From a press release
District Attorney Jack Stollsteimer today announced charges against Christopher Cahall, a lieutenant in Delaware County’s Park Police Department. The charges include theft by unlawful taking, theft by deception, and receiving stolen property, and result from the defendant’s receipt of $36,122.41 in overtime compensation based upon the submission of fraudulent time records.
“Those of us who are fortunate enough to work in the public service know that we hold a sacred trust with the community we serve. The residents of Delaware County have a right to expect holders of that trust to be honest and faithful in the discharge of their duties. Unfortunately, with today’s arrest, we see an individual who instead yielded to the temptation of self-interest. The silver lining, however, is that I can assure County residents that as soon as an irregularity was noted in the payroll records, the matter was reported to our office and, within a week’s time, an arrest was made,” said District Jack Attorney Stollsteimer.
On Wednesday, August 2, 2023, Chief John Diehl of the Delaware County Park Police contacted Detectives Edward Rosen and Robert Lythgoe of the Criminal Investigation Division’s Special Investigations Unit regarding a possible theft. Chief Diehl reported that in January 2022 the defendant had been placed in charge of inputting payroll for the Park Police. In July 2023 assignments were changed and the defendant was removed from payroll duties and replaced by a different member of the Park Police. It was noticed during the transition that no sick time had been reported by the defendant, despite the fact that a Park Police Captain recalled that the defendant had, in fact, been absent for at least two days. That discrepancy triggered an internal audit, and it was determined that a large amount of overtime had been paid to the defendant.
Detectives Rosen and Lythgoe examined pay period sheets, timesheets, printouts from the payroll system, and shift logs, and the Controller’s office supplied paystubs. Investigation revealed that there were many instances where the defendant was paid overtime for extra shifts that he had not worked, as well as for holidays the defendant did not work. In all, it was determined that the defendant was paid $34,568.81 in stolen salary and $1,553.60 for holidays that he did not work.
On August 7, 2023, Detectives Rosen and Lythgoe interviewed the defendant and he admitted to the thefts that he had committed.
“First and foremost, I want to thank Chief Diehl of the Park Police for acting so quickly to bring this matter to our attention. It is clear from his actions that Chief Diehl understands and respects the public trust that his department holds. I also want to thank Detectives Rosen and Lythgoe of the Criminal Investigation Division and Controller Joanne Phillips and her excellent team for their work on this matter. Finally, I want to thank the DAO’s Deputy for Special Investigations Douglas Rhoads for his assistance in bringing today’s charges,” said Stollsteimer.
A Delaware County spokeswoman said, “Delaware County government is pleased (Stollsteimer’s) office responded so quickly when county staff brought the matter to his attention. The county stands ready to cooperate with the District Attorney as he seeks an appropriate resolution of the case.”
