Posted on 01/27/2007 9:42:46 AM PST by kiriath_jearim
Montgomery — The feds are investigating gun purchases made by Village of Montgomery police officers while longtime Officer in Charge Jack Byrnes Jr. was running the department, according to people familiar with the investigation.
Those people say that at least one federal law-enforcement agency is assembling a paper trail to track the movement of the guns — including documents pertaining to the private security business that is Byrnes' bread-and-butter.
In one case, a source said that the FBI received copies of handgun sale slips documenting purchases by Byrnes. Those records are normally kept by the state police Pistol Permit Bureau, which documents all legal handgun transactions in New York.
The reason for the investigation isn't clear, and Jim Margolin, an FBI spokesman, said he had no comment. Montgomery Mayor Steve Brescia learned about it from a reporter, and Byrnes laughed it off.
"No comment," he said, chuckling during a long-distance phone call Wednesday. Byrnes runs Allstate Security in Montgomery, and recently expanded his security business to the Dominican Republic. The new venture has kept him away from the village and cost him his officer-in-charge status last week.
While he's been the officer in charge, Byrnes has employed some village cops as security officers with his private company.
The village hasn't received any recent requests from any law-enforcement agency for information about Byrnes or the police department, according to the village's response to a Freedom of Information Law request by the Times Herald-Record. Byrnes said he hasn't been contacted by the FBI.
Since he was stripped of his title last week, Byrnes himself has papered Village Hall with FOIL requests. Byrnes' lawyer also threatened to sue a village trustee who said Byrnes ought to resign.
After the Village Board's vote to demote him, Byrnes sounded an angry new note. Byrnes now says he might run for mayor against Brescia.
They've been friends since they were both kids growing up in the village in the late 1960s, and Byrnes has supported Brescia during his nearly 17 years in the mayor's office. As of yesterday, Brescia was the only candidate who'd filed any campaign paperwork at Village Hall.
On Byrnes' watch, Montgomery has developed a reputation as a safe place to live. Cars traveling into the village from Route 211 hit the brakes well before the speed limit drops from 55 mph to 30 mph. A daily phenomenon: At least one police car, with its flashers working, is posted to watch the kids arriving and leaving from Montgomery Elementary School.
But Byrnes' management of the police department has been questioned. And now, for the first time, even the mayor is saying that the village can't afford another "black eye" at the hand of Byrnes.
"The trouble is, I've been friends with him for 30 years," Brescia said this week. "Over the last two years, I don't really know Jack."
That's because his old friend has spent more time out of the country than he has in the village lately. Between complications from hernia surgery and the startup of his new security venture in the Dominican Republic, Byrnes hasn't worked his allotted 80 hours a month at the police station since August. All told, he put in roughly four months of work last year, the mayor said, earning about 30 percent of his $20,426 annual salary. But until his demotion last week, Brynes was still running the show.
The officer in charge is now John Luffman, a 13-year veteran of the department who's retired from the NYPD. Luffman said he was unaware of any federal investigation of Byrnes.
"Jack Byrnes is not that silly or that stupid to do something like that," Luffman said, stressing that his friendship with Byrnes hasn't been affected by the recent uproar. "I can bet his desk on it, and I can do that because I'm sitting at it right now."
$20,426 annual salary.
What?
Is this the home of Orange County Choppers ?
I have no idea.
Yes, Montgomery is the home of OCC....We are in Orange County, the last bastion of Republican Conservatism in the NYC burbs. This guy is an interesting character to say the least, he's been involved in some pretty shady dealings. He had the department buy several high end Harley Davidsons when OCC got big, when the Dept didnt need them. He basically stole a resturant from the guy that owned it and he has been on vacation down in the Dominican for months setting up a business venture while being paid by the Dept. He also owns a private security firm.
But...you pay your chief of police less than my 17-yo makes at a McJob, and don't expect corruption?
Am I missing something?
The village is about 2 miles square, he isnt exactly kicking down doors and rousting drug dealers. We also have State Police coverage and OC Sheriff's dept coverage, anything major the State takes it....The village guys basically arrest dwi's and write parking tickets. They are good guys and very responsive but we arent talking a high crime area here.....The problem with this guy is, he thinks he is the king of the town....He has been a problem for years.
Our town in VA is exactly 2.2 square miles. We have 28 cops, and I think the starting sallary is about $40k.
Amazingly little corruption.
How on EARTH do they justify 28 cops in a 2.2 square mile town?????? On the surface it sounds like a speed trap.
It is a speed trap, and we add an enhanced $100 civil infraction for every violation.
Too many cops can be a bad thing, you think?
Wanna tell the republicrats?
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