San Jose POA fires exec Joanne Segovia following last month's federal drug charges
SAN JOSE -- The San Jose Police Officers' Association (SJPOA) has fired Joanne Segovia, the union's executive director who was charged last month with attempting to illegally import synthetic opioids into the U.S. for distribution.
In a press statement Friday, the SJPOA said Segovia was terminated after the first phase of an internal investigation into the federal drug charges against Segovia. The union said the second phase of the investigation would involve an outside investigation into the alleged criminal conduct and what extent POA resources may have been used.
The 64-year-old Segovia was charged last month with attempting to import valeryl fentanyl, a fentanyl analog, and other synthetic opioids in an alleged scheme to distribute them throughout the U.S., according to the federal complaint filed on March 27.
According to the complaint, "Segovia used her personal and office computers to order thousands of opioid and other pills to her home and agreed to distribute the drugs elsewhere in the United States."
Between October 2015 and January of this year, Segovia allegedly had at least 61 shipments mailed to her home from Hong Kong, Hungary, India, and Singapore and other locations. Manifests described the contents of the packages with labels like "Wedding Party Favors," "Gift Makeup," or "Chocolate and Sweets."
The complaint also alleged that Segovia communicated using encrypted WhatsApp messages to plan the logistics for receiving and sending pill shipments and used her office at the San Jose Police Officers' Association to distribute controlled substances and even used the SJPOA's UPS account for a shipment.
The union said its outside probe would also determine whether internal POA operations could have identified the alleged crimes. The union said the outside investigator would be announced in the coming days.
"The abhorrent criminal conduct alleged against Ms. Segovia must be the impetus to ensuring our internal controls at the POA are strong and that we enact any changes that could have identified the alleged conduct sooner," said union president Sean Pritchard in a prepared statement. "The independent outside investigator will conduct a no-holds-barred examination of our operations and will get the full cooperation from the POA."
Segovia was placed on leave following word of the charges last month. The POA said no one else at the union was involved or had prior knowledge of the alleged crimes.
Segovia faces a maximum statutory sentence of 20 years if convicted. In addition, the court may order a convicted defendant to serve at least three years of supervised release and to pay a fine of up to $250,000.