Pubdate: Fri, 08 Feb 2002
Source: Indianapolis Star (IN)
Copyright: 2002 Indianapolis Newspapers Inc.
Contact:  http://www.mapinc.org/media/210
Website: http://www.starnews.com/
Author: Vic Ryckaert

PROBATION OFFICER CHARGED IN BRIBE

New Hire In Department Allegedly Agreed To Erase A Failed Drug Test From 
The Record Of A Thief For $200.

Marion County's probation chief said a review of the cases handled by an 
officer accused of taking a bribe had uncovered "questionable and 
unacceptable casework practices."

The Marion County prosecutor's office on Thursday charged probation officer 
Nyamekye Proctor with bribery and official misconduct. Bribery, a felony, 
carries a maximum sentence of eight years in prison.

Proctor, 24, was arrested Feb. 1 on a preliminary charge of bribery. Police 
said he agreed to erase a probationer's failed drug test in exchange for $200.

He was released Saturday after posting a $15,000 bond. The review of his 
caseload was started Monday.

Officials have audited about a third of the 160 cases Proctor supervised, 
according to Chief Probation Officer Robert Bingham. He described Proctor's 
work as "sloppy and unprofessional."

"We are uncovering other discrepancies or irregularities," Bingham said. 
"Pending the outcome of the inquiry, it's premature to say how bad it is."

Proctor was hired in July, Bingham said, one of a wave of new employees who 
came to the department in the past year.

A recent college graduate, Proctor passed a police background check and 
performed very well during his face-to-face interview, Bingham said.

"There's just nothing out of the ordinary in hiring him," Bingham said. 
"This is alarming and distasteful to everybody who works hard here and is 
not representative of what we do."

Proctor, who earned $22,386 a year, has been on unpaid leave since Monday.

He was on a team of 11 officers guided by one supervisor. Bingham said the 
office has two new training and auditing positions to help detect and 
prevent wrongdoing within the department. The officers in those roles have 
been spending most of their time training and were about a week or two away 
from beginning their auditing duties.

In Marion County, about 160 probation officers keep tabs on about 10,000 
people on probation. At this point, officials said, there's no evidence 
that other officers have been involved in any illegal activity.

"We expect the highest standards of integrity from our probation officers," 
said Judge Mark Stoner, who became supervising judge of the probation 
department Jan. 1. "This one isolated incident should not detract from the 
excellent work that the department does on a daily basis."

According to documents filed Thursday in Marion Superior Court, police 
recorded a phone call between Carl McGill and Proctor in which the 
probation officer said he would take care of a failed drug test for $200 
and agreed to eliminate future monitoring for $500.

"What would it be worth to you for me to get away with no more drops?" 
McGill asked during the Feb. 1 phone call.

"Oh, five will cover everything else," Proctor said.

About an hour later, McGill, a convicted thief, wore a hidden microphone 
when he met Proctor at Lafayette Square Mall and handed him $200 stuffed 
into a white envelope, police said.

Proctor handed the envelope back to McGill, police said, as officers 
approached the two men.

Proctor is scheduled to appear for an initial hearing Feb. 12 before Judge 
Jane Magnus-Stinson. He could not be reached for comment.
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