Six Veteran Fort Worth Cops Fired Yesterday for Theft – Felony Charges Should Follow

Police officers getting caught violating the law for whatever reason is always alarming, but it’s especially disconcerting when there’s a group of cops involved and they’ve been on the force long enough to really, really know better.

Fort Worth Cops Fired for Faking Traffic Tickets to Boost Their Pay

Yesterday, six (6) Fort Worth police officers were fired outright because an investigation revealed they were messing with traffic tickets in order to get fake overtime pay available under via a federal grant where federal money is available to pay for police officer overtime (the “Selective Traffic Enforcement Program”).  

Right now, they’ve lost their jobs and their personal reputations but no one has been arrested. Yet. Expect felony charges soon, folks: the U.S. Attorney’s Office is getting its ducks in a row, using the investigation results to build their case. 

And they’ll be going after these six police officers as well as three other experienced cops (one with 25 years on the force) who quit rather than get booted.  

The Nine Cops Who Allegedly Got Caught With Their Hands in the Federal Overtime Cookie Jar

Rookies, you might think, would be tempted to fudge overtime hours – they’re new, they’re gullible.  They’d be the ones culled out of the organization over time, right?  Well, that’s not the scenario here. 

Consider the length of service on the Fort Worth Police Force for the following nine former police officers who allegedly worked the system to get paid for hours they did not work:

• Robert Peoples — 22 yrs (fired);
• Patrick Aguilar — 18 yrs (fired);
• James Dunn — 11 yrs (fired);
• Maurice Middleton — 11 yrs (fired);
• Marcus Mosqueda — 7 yrs (fired);
• Ronald Wigginton — 5 yrs (fired);
• Herman Young — 25 yrs (resigned);
• Jonathan Johnson — 8 yrs (resigned);
• James McDade — 5 yrs (resigned).