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GAZETTE.NET<br>
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Maryland Community News<br>
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Published: Friday, August 10, 2012<br>
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<b><font size="+1">Fraud allegations mean Riverdale Park may have to
reimburse $5 million in speed camera revenue </font></b><br>
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Holly Nunn Staff writer<br>
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If allegations of fraud in the town’s speed camera program turn out
to be true, Riverdale Park could have to reimburse about $5 million
to drivers issued speeding tickets through the program, a large sum
for a town with an annual budget of just more than $6 million.<br>
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A Riverdale Park police officer claims officials allowed his
signature to be forged on an unknown number of speed camera
citations dating back to 2010.<br>
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Cpl. Clay Alford, a four-year veteran of the force, was suspended
Wednesday, said his lawyer, Timothy Leahy, after claiming that
civilians were authorizing speed camera citations using his log-in
information and signature, and that his supervisors on the force
were aware of the practice. Leahy said he believes the suspension
was retaliatory.<br>
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FOX 5 first reported the story Monday after Leahy filed a class
action lawsuit Aug. 6 on behalf of two drivers who received speed
camera tickets.<br>
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Mayor Vernon Archer and town attorney Fred Sussman declined to
comment on the lawsuit, adding that the town has a policy not to
speak about personnel or legal matters. Police Chief David Morris
could not be reached for comment.<br>
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The 2006 Maryland statute that authorized speed cameras was amended
in 2009 to require speed camera citations to include a signed
statement by a police officer.<br>
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The lawsuit, filed in Prince George’s County Circuit Court, includes
emails dated in May 2010 and January 2011 between Alford and
civilian enforcement officers in which they discuss “clearing out”
citation approvals between themselves and their supervisors. When a
large volume of citations needed to be approved, Alford and
non-police officers split up the citations and processed them, the
emails indicate.<br>
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The lawsuit calls for the town to refund the $40 fines to anyone who
paid a ticket that had not been approved by an officer.<br>
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Brentwood, which has a contract with the same camera operators —
Sigma Space Corporation and Optotraffic — refunded more than 3,500
tickets in 2010 when the person issuing the tickets was not
officially a police officer.<br>
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“Riverdale Park has a bigger problem because they’ve been doing this
knowingly for several years,” Leahy said.<br>
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Leahy said he believes the town could be saving money by allowing
civilian processors to approve citations, because they make less
money than a police officer.<br>
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Since the speed cameras were installed in January 2010, the town has
made more than $2.4 million from the program, according to town
budget documents. Town officials did not immediately return calls
for the exact number of speed cameras.<br>
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Leahy said he estimates the fines issued total about $5 million,
based on tax documents submitted to the state by the town. It could
take up to a year to get a hearing, Leahy said.<br>
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<font size="+1"><b>“[Riverdale Park’s] problem is not the civil
lawsuit,” said Leahy. “They have people within the town’s power
structure that make really bad decisions.”</b></font><br>
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<a class="moz-txt-link-abbreviated" href="mailto:hnunn@gazette.net">hnunn@gazette.net</a><br>
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<font color="#3333ff"><a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="http://www.gazette.net/article/20120810/NEWS/708109535/1124/fraud-allegations-mean-riverdale-park-may-have-to-reimburse-5&template=gazette">http://www.gazette.net/article/20120810/NEWS/708109535/1124/fraud-allegations-mean-riverdale-park-may-have-to-reimburse-5&template=gazette</a></font><br>
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