No charges planned in investigation

EXPLORER FUNDS REPAID; DISTRICT ATTORNEY WON'T TAKE CRIMINAL ACTION

Friday, October 27, 2006

By Marcie Young
Charlotte Observer Staff Writer

District Attorney Jay Gaither has decided not to take criminal action against the wife of a Hickory police officer who has repaid $101.50 investigators say she took from the department's Explorer program.

The decision came after Gaither reviewed a police investigation that looked into allegations that withdrawals made with the Explorer credit card were improper, said Hickory Police Chief Floyd Lucas.

Gaither's office will not take criminal action because the adviser repaid $101.50 for the one withdrawal deemed "inappropriate" by investigators and resigned from the program, Lucas said.

Lucas said the investigation began in May, when Sgt. Bob Winters, who supervises the department's community service unit, was reviewing Explorer bank statements and noticed numerous cash withdrawals made with a credit card issued to the program.

Lucas said police investigators found that Celeste Crump, the program's volunteer adviser and wife of veteran officer Danny Crump, had made several withdrawals with the credit card. Police investigated whether 11 of them benefited the program.

Neither Celeste Crump nor Danny Crump returned repeated messages left for them at the police department.

Lucas said a $101.50 withdrawal from an automatic cash machine in Myrtle Beach was an "inappropriate action" because the card was used to withdraw money that was not used for the Explorer program.

Crump told investigators that the credit card issued for Explorer-related purchases looked similar to her personal card, and she used it by mistake, Lucas said.

Gaither said money withdrawn in the 11 transactions totaled about $500.

The 10 other transactions were not deemed inappropriate because investigators could not conclude that the cash withdrawals were not Explorer-related purchases, Lucas said.

Gaither said Crump also told investigators that she advanced her own money to the Explorers and made withdrawals with the program's credit card to reimburse her expenses.

Investigators also questioned Danny Crump, who advised the Explorer group with his wife. Crump said he did not know about the transactions, Lucas said, and passed a polygraph test about the missing funds.

The police department completed its internal investigation within 10 days, and the results of the investigation were passed on to Gaither's office, Lucas said.

On Sept. 21, the district attorney notified the police department that Celeste Crump would not be charged, Lucas said.

Gaither said his office would not take criminal action because Crump had repaid the funds, and the investigation showed the withdrawal was a mistake.

Lucas and Gaither said Crump did not receive preferential treatment because her husband is an officer. "This wasn't treated any different than any other government, city or private individual would have been treated," Gaither said.

Danny and Celeste Crump have resigned as advisers to the Explorer program, Lucas said, but Danny Crump remains with the Hickory police as a patrol officer.

Lucas said the Explorer program, which exposes teenagers to careers in law enforcement, is sponsored by the Hickory police but does not receive taxpayer money. The funds taken, he said, came primarily from dues paid by Explorer members.


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