Former Hamburg detective sentenced to 4 months
Gave confidential information to biker
Published: November 25, 2009, 12:30 am
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Officers across New York State use police computers thousands of times every day, routinely looking for information ranging from a suspect’s past record to the motor vehicle registration of a law-abiding citizen.
One day in September 2008, former Hamburg Police Detective Laurie Staley-Stone accessed a police computer three times, and she’s going to federal prison for it.
Staley-Stone, who pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor crime of illegally using information from a police computer, was sentenced to four months on Thursday by U. S. Magistrate Judge Jeremiah J. McCarthy.
Stone gave confidential police information to a member of the Chosen Few motorcycle gang, according to federal prosecutors.
Authorities believe the Chosen Few hoped to use the information “to gain a tactical advantage” on a rival gang — the Kingsmen — and possibly to harm one of the leaders of the Kingsmen, said U. S. Attorney Kathleen M. Mehltretter.
“The message sent by this sentencing is ‘don’t abuse your oath of office,’ ” Mehltretter said. “Law enforcement agencies have access to numerous databases, with all kinds of information about individuals. They can use this information, but for police purposes only. Not to help friends or other people they know.”
What information did Staley-Stone provide?
She gave a Chosen Few member some mug shots of William Slater, a leader of the rival Kingsmen gang and also some motor vehicle information about a close member of Slater’s family, according to court documents.
Slater, in his late 40s, has a history of run-ins with the Chosen Few, according to court records.
A Chosen Few member, Bradley Beutler, is accused of shooting Slater on Connecticut Street on Buffalo’s West Side in May 2005. Prosecutors allege that, before the shooting, Beutler wiped fingerprints off his ammunition in the Depew clubhouse of the Chosen Few.
That charge against Beutler is part of the federal prosecution alleging death threats, beatings, fire-bombings and other illegal conduct by the Chosen Few. Chosen Few members deny the allegations.
On May 1, Depew Police charged Slater and another man of using an AK-47 rifle to shoot up the Chosen Few clubhouse.
Regardless of anything that occurred between Slater and the Chosen Few, no police officer had the right to leak confidential police information to the Chosen Few, Mehltretter said.
One of Staley-Stone’s assignments with the Hamburg Police was investigating biker gangs. In court papers filed earlier this month, she and Daniels said the man she gave the data to was a Chosen Few member who promised to give her information about violent activities in the biker world.
Staley-Stone was concerned that Slater might commit violent acts in the Town of Hamburg, possibly at the Erie County Fairgrounds, Daniels said in court papers.
“I was caught up in the biker gang culture, trying to establish a trust,” Staley-Stone wrote in a letter to the judge. “I made a mistake by passing on privileged and confidential law enforcement information to a member of an outlaw motorcycle gang. And no matter what reason I had at the time, I see now that it was unjustifiable and wrong.”
When asked what relationship existed between the married detective and the Chosen Few biker, she gave information to, Daniels said: “To my knowledge, he was only her informant, and that was the extent of it.”
Some of the information Staley-Stone gave to the biker was later found by members of the Safe Streets Task Force when they raided the Chosen Few clubhouse, Mehltretter said.
Staley-Stone is not the only local law enforcement person to be prosecuted for such conduct in recent years.
Kelly Bossinger, a former U. S. Customs & Border Protection officer, was sentenced in November 2007 to a halfway house for five months, and five months of home confinement. She was convicted of illegally using a police computer to find information about a family member who had been the subject of a drug investigation.
Two other Customs officers who helped her pleaded guilty to misdemeanors in that case, and another officer retired when he learned he was under investigation.
“Wrongful use of police computer information is a matter we take very seriously,” Mehltretter said.
In Staley-Stone’s case, Mc-Carthy could have sentenced the former detective to probation, and many in the courtroom expected him to.
But the judge said he viewed the crime as a serious violation of public trust. He also said Staley-Stone never gave him an adequate explanation why she handed confidential police information to a member of a biker gang.
“As a police officer, you betrayed a trust,” the judge told the 44-year-old ex-cop. “You put others in harm’s way.”
The sentence shocked and upset members of Staley-Stone’s family. Her 77-year-old mother rushed out of the courtroom in tears immediately after McCarthy pronounced it.
“We are disappointed,” said Staley-Stone’s attorney, Joel L. Daniels. “Before this incident, she had an exemplary police career.”
Staley-Stone, the first woman detective in the history of the Town of Hamburg Police, resigned from her job earlier this year after FBI agents learned about her conduct while investigating the Chosen Few. About 20 members and associates of the Chosen Few still face felony charges filed in May.
It was fortunate that the information did not get someone killed or seriously hurt, McCarthy said.
The judge did not immediately order Staley-Stone to be handed over the federal marshals. She will report to a federal prison at a later date.
Staley-Stone spent 19 years in the town police force, and before that, worked more than two years with the Buffalo Police. Her guilty plea will not prevent her from receiving a police pension.
In asking for leniency, Daniels said Staley-Stone was highly regarded by fellow officers for her work, including murder cases, drug cases, sex crimes and car crashes. He said she was also a hostage negotiator for her department.
“She had a wonderful career and it’s a shame that she has to go out like this,” Daniels said.
He added that he does not foresee filing an appeal of the sentence, because it fell within the scope of advisory sentencing guidelines.
Officers across New York State use police computers thousands of times every day, routinely looking for information ranging from a suspect’s past record to the motor vehicle registration of a law-abiding citizen.
One day in September 2008, former Hamburg Police Detective Laurie Staley-Stone accessed a police computer three times, and she’s going to federal prison for it.
Staley-Stone, who pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor crime of illegally using information from a police computer, was sentenced to four months on Thursday by U. S. Magistrate Judge Jeremiah J. McCarthy.
Stone gave confidential police information to a member of the Chosen Few motorcycle gang, according to federal prosecutors.
Authorities believe the Chosen Few hoped to use the information “to gain a tactical advantage” on a rival gang — the Kingsmen — and possibly to harm one of the leaders of the Kingsmen, said U. S. Attorney Kathleen M. Mehltretter.
“The message sent by this sentencing is ‘don’t abuse your oath of office,’ ” Mehltretter said. “Law enforcement agencies have access to numerous databases, with all kinds of information about individuals. They can use this information, but for police purposes only. Not to help friends or other people they know.”
What information did Staley- Stone provide?
She gave a Chosen Few member some mug shots of William Slater, a leader of the rival Kingsmen gang and also some motor vehicle information about a close member of Slater’s family, according to court documents.
Slater, in his late 40s, has a history of run-ins with the Chosen Few, according to court records.
A Chosen Few member, Bradley Beutler, is accused of shooting Slater on Connecticut Street on Buffalo’s West Side in May 2005. Prosecutors allege that, before the shooting, Beutler wiped fingerprints off his ammunition in the Depew clubhouse of the Chosen Few.
That charge against Beutler is part of the federal prosecution alleging death threats, beatings, firebombings and other illegal conduct by the Chosen Few. Chosen Few members deny the allegations.
On May 1, Depew Police charged Slater and another man of using an AK-47 rifle to shoot up the Chosen Few clubhouse.
Regardless of anything that occurred between Slater and the Chosen Few, no police officer had the right to leak confidential police information to the Chosen Few, Mehltretter said.
One of Staley-Stone’s assignments with the Hamburg Police was investigating biker gangs. In court papers filed earlier this month, she and Daniels said the man she gave the data to was a Chosen Few member who promised to give her information about violent activities in the biker world.
Staley-Stone was concerned that Slater might commit violent acts in the Town of Hamburg, possibly at the Erie County Fairgrounds, Daniels said in court papers.
“I was caught up in the biker gang culture, trying to establish a trust,” Staley-Stone wrote in a letter to the judge. “I made a mistake by passing on privileged and confidential law enforcement information to a member of an outlaw motorcycle gang. And no matter what reason I had at the time, I see now that it was unjustifiable and wrong.”
When asked what relationship existed between the married detective and the Chosen Few biker she gave information to, Daniels said: “To my knowledge, he was only her informant, and that was the extent of it.”
Some of the information Staley-Stone gave to the biker was later found by members of the Safe Streets Task Force when they raided the Chosen Few clubhouse, Mehltretter said.
Staley-Stone is not the only local law enforcement person to be prosecuted for such conduct in recent years.
Kelly Bossinger, a former U. S. Customs & Border Protection officer, was sentenced in November 2007 to a halfway house for five months, and five months of home confinement. She was convicted of illegally using a police computer to find information about a family member who had been the subject of a drug investigation.
Two other Customs officers who helped her pleaded guilty to misdemeanors in that case, and another officer retired when he learned he was under investigation.
“Wrongful use of police computer information is a matter we take very seriously,” Mehltretter said.
In Staley-Stone’s case, Mc- Carthy could have sentenced the former detective to probation, and many in the courtroom expected him to.
But the judge said he viewed the crime as a serious violation of public trust. He also said Staley- Stone never gave him an adequate explanation why she handed confidential police information to a member of a biker gang.
“As a police officer, you betrayed a trust,” the judge told the 44-year-old ex-cop. “You put others in harm’s way.”
The sentence shocked and upset members of Staley- Stone’s family. Her 77-year-old mother rushed out of the courtroom in tears immediately after McCarthy pronounced it.
“We are disappointed,” said Staley-Stone’s attorney, Joel L. Daniels. “Before this incident, she had an exemplary police career.”
Staley-Stone, the first woman detective in the history of the Town of Hamburg Police, resigned from her job earlier this year after FBI agents learned about her conduct while investigating the Chosen Few. About 20 members and associates of the Chosen Few still face felony charges filed in May.
It was fortunate that the information did not get someone killed or seriously hurt, McCarthy said.
The judge did not immediately order Staley-Stone to be handed over the federal marshals. She will report to a federal prison at a later date.
Staley-Stone spent 19 years in the town police force, and before that, worked more than two years with the Buffalo Police. Her guilty plea will not prevent her from receiving a police pension.
In asking for leniency, Daniels said Staley-Stone was highly regarded by fellow officers for her work, including murder cases, drug cases, sex crimes and car crashes. He said she was also a hostage negotiator for her department.
“She had a wonderful career and it’s a shame that she has to go out like this,” Daniels said.
He added that he does not foresee filing an appeal of the sentence, because it fell within the scope of advisory sentencing guidelines.
email:dherbeck@buffnews.com
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