By Terry Oparka
C & G Staff Writer

TROY — Troy police have changed policies and procedures regarding money kept for narcotics investigations after $40,000 went missing from a police safe.

On Jan.  29, police said, they discovered $40,000 earmarked for narcotics special investigations missing from a police safe. Troy police launched an internal investigation and immediately asked the Oakland County Sheriff’s Office to investigate the matter.

Troy Police Capt. Gerry Scherlinck said that he couldn’t comment on the ongoing internal investigation because of a chilling effect it could have on employees who may be compelled to give statements, but he said the Troy investigation was consistent with the Oakland County Sheriff’s Office’s criminal investigation, which cleared all current Troy police employees of any wrongdoing. 

Scherlinck said that as soon as the missing money came to light, former Police Chief Charles Craft, whose retirement was imminent, and current Police Chief Gary Mayer informed former City Manager Phil Nelson and briefed each member of the City Council individually on the incident.

Scherlinck said that as part of the internal investigation, the policies and procedures in place at the time of the incident were reviewed and subsequently revised.

“We have changed policies and procedures regarding funds, and restricted the amount of cash on hand for special investigations and will ensure that additional audits of the funds we do maintain will be done,” Scherlinck said. “This will not recur in the future.”

Oakland County Undersheriff Michael McCabe said that the Special Investigations Unit has not closed the investigation, but it is at a standstill at this point.

“We’ve exhausted every lead and we haven’t solved the mystery of what happened to the money,” he said. “The investigation is in a holding pattern without any new leads.”

He said that the Sheriff’s Office gets a lot of requests from other law enforcement agencies to investigate criminal and serious matters, such as the fatal shooting involving a police officer from Pontiac.

“This is a police department with a very solid reputation for honesty and integrity in the community,” Scherlinck added. “Quite frankly, this is an embarrassment. It should not have happened.”

“The council were all briefed and the matter was fully investigated,” said Troy Mayor Louise Schilling. “There is no proof of any wrongdoing. I do not believe there was any wrongdoing on behalf of any city employees. I would stake my reputation on it.” 

You can reach Staff Writer Terry Oparka at toparka@candgnews.com or at (586) 498-1054.