Follow-up story on the poor sap who was being targeted by rotten apples in the Chicago Police Department.  At least I’ll get a good laugh when those FOP fundraisers call for cash.  I particular like that one of them was recently fired TWO YEARS after putting a bag of dog shit on someone’s porch and pulling a gun.

Problem Solver: Ticket case keeps on ticking

Jon Yates’ “What’s Your Problem?”

November 22, 2011

The Fraternal Order of Police has come to the defense of four officers accused of writing false parking tickets, claiming the charges against them are bogus.

But the union takes particular exception to the treatment of one of the officers, Steven Sabatino, calling his unpaid suspension unfair — and unpatriotic.

Sabatino is serving with the Air National Guard in Afghanistan and is not scheduled to return to the U.S. until spring. That means he will not receive a hearing on his case until perhaps summer, leaving him without a Police Department paycheck for almost a year.

“We are deeply disappointed with the Chicago Police Department’s decision to take such action while our member is serving our country and is not available to defend himself against these allegations,” union spokesman Pat Camden said in an email to the Problem Solver. “A patriot such as officer Sabatino is owed far better treatment from his employer than a suspension from his employment and pay while serving his country in a war zone.”

Superintendent Garry McCarthy suspended the officers without pay Sept. 26 and has moved to have them fired for their alleged roles in a scheme to write Orland Park resident Mark Geinosky two dozen false parking tickets.

The officers’ fates now rest with the Police Board, which will determine if they should be terminated.

The other three officers, Paul Roque, Horst Hegewald and William Whelehan, are expected to have their hearings in January or February.

A Police Department spokeswoman did not respond Monday to the Problem Solver’s request for comment on the union’s statement.

The union’s jab at the department is the latest in a string of developments in the yearslong battle over the parking tickets, which has been chronicled in this column.

The case began in late 2007, when Geinosky received his first parking tickets for infractions he did not commit. Over the next 14 months, he accumulated 24 citations, all which he successfully fought in administrative court.

None of the tickets were attached to his car; all were sent to him in the mail. At least one of the tickets was issued after he sold his vehicle.

Convinced he was being harassed, Geinosky filed a complaint with the Independent Police Review Authority in September 2008. His complaint was forwarded to the police Internal Affairs Department, which promptly closed the case without investigation.

Geinosky emailed What’s Your Problem? in 2009. The Problem Solver wrote about his case on Feb. 24, 2009, prompting the Police Department to launch a fresh internal investigation.

The probe led McCarthy to file the internal charges against the four officers Sept. 26.

Roque, Hegewald and Whelehan are scheduled to appear before the Police Board on Dec. 9, at which time a hearing date for their cases likely will be set.

Because Sabatino is in Afghanistan, he has not been formally served a copy of the charges. Sources say he likely will not be served with the papers until he returns from overseas, meaning his hearing could be delayed until early summer.

Whether Whelehan will face the Police Board on the parking ticket charges remains unclear, because he has been fired for his role in an unrelated off-duty altercation. Police say that on Nov. 22, 2009, Whelehan placed a bag of dog excrement on a neighbor’s doorstep, then drew his gun and used a racial epithet in an ensuing altercation.

On Oct. 20, the Police Board found Whelehan guilty of violating six Police Department rules and terminated his employment.

If Whelehan appeals the ruling, Police Department officials could decide to forge ahead with a hearing on the parking ticket charges. If he does not appeal, the department could simply let the ticket allegations against him drop.

In an email to the Problem Solver this month, Whelehan denied any involvement in the false tickets case. He did not respond to a follow-up question inquiring about the 2009 incident.

An attorney representing Roque and Hegewald said those officers are innocent of the charges.

A fifth officer investigated in the case, Kenneth Wilkerson, resigned July 29, according to Police Board records. Wilkerson’s name and badge number appeared on 13 of the false tickets.

The Problem Solver was unable to reach Wilkerson for comment.

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