[StBernard] Did St. Bernard deputy use his influence to get theft charges dropped?

[Westley Annis]

Did St. Bernard deputy use his influence to get theft charges dropped?

by Michael Perlstein / Eyewitness News

wwltv.com

Posted on December 6, 2010 at 10:31 PM



NEW ORLEANS - If there is no victim willing to report a crime, did the crime
occur?

That may sound like a Zen riddle, but within the St. Bernard Parish
Sheriff's Office, it's a scenario that has sparked a not-so-routine internal
investigation of a veteran deputy.

It all started in August when Desi Fulmer entered an agreement with a BP
contractor to store seven boats on his family's property in Toca. But a
couple of days later, two boat motors valued at about $5,000 turned up
missing.

Fulmer notified the contractor, United States Environmental Services, or
USES, and the company called the sheriff's office to file a police report.

"The last I walked away from that situation we were in the process of filing
a police report," Fulmer said.

Fulmer, a retired Wildlife and Fisheries agent, was working with the company
and a sheriff's office captain to aid in the investigation, when suddenly
the investigation ended. Turns out that the boat motors were returned and
USES declined to press charges.

When Fulmer dug deeper, he learned the motors were returned with the help of
a deputy, Greg Hauck, who also happens to be Fulmer's neighbor. Not only
that, but a relative of Hauck's admitted to stealing one of the motors.

Because the relative is a juvenile, Fulmer was initially willing to let the
matter slide. But then he found out that another neighbor, a man in his 20s
with a minor criminal history, also was involved - and also was being let
off the hook when USES declined to file charges.

"I was furious. I was just livid," Fulmer said.

Fulmer is questioning whether Hauck used his influence as a deputy to keep
USES from pursuing the matter.

"At any rate, the deputy uses his position - I don't even know how to even
word it - encourage, coerce, intimidate someone with that company that owned
these motors to not file charges," Fulmer said.

Fulmer fired off a complaint against Hauck to the sheriff's office. And to
back up his claim, he obtained a notarized affidavit from a USES employee
confirming that motors were stolen and then returned with Hauck's
assistance.

Now it's left to the sheriff's internal affairs division to determine if
Hauck violated any department policy.

"This particular case is a bit unusual," said St. Bernard Chief Deputy Jimmy
Pohlmann. "For one, it was never officially reported that a boat motor was
stolen."

Pohlmann said that even though the theft case can't proceed without a
victim, the internal investigation will be allowed to run its course.

"Now Mr. Fulmer might be alleging the Hauck had some influence with U.S.E.S.
or flexed his muscle in this case," Pohlmann said. "I don't know, that's
currently being investigated. And if that's the case, we'll deal with it.
But if that's not the case, we're satisfied that the victim did not want to
pursue this and that's they way we're going to leave it."

"So what does it mean in today's world when you show a criminal you're not
going to have to answer or be responsible for your actions?" Fulmer said.

After the theft, USES stopped using Fulmer's property for storage. Meanwhile
the sheriff's office said its internal investigation is nearing completion.