Officers Accused Of Taking Money From Union Turn Themselves In
CORAL SPRINGS (CBSMiami) -- Two Coral Springs Police officers accused of misappropriating funds from a police union turned themselves in early Friday morning.
Sherry Williams, 48, and Michael Hughes, 41, walked into the jail around 7:00 a.m. Another officer, Doug Williams, 56, was arrested in connection to the case. He bonded out Thursday after turning himself in.
All three face charges of grand theft. Hughes and Sherry Williams each face a charge Organized Scheme to Defraud, which is a first-degree felony.
Michael Hughes and Doug Williams are two former president and vice presidents of the city's police union- the Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 87. Sherry Williams is a former union treasurer.
An attorney for the union wrote in a letter that the allegations came to light in 2012 when new union leadership discovered "suspicious business practices and transactions in the bank accounts. They also discovered that the lodge's tax returns contained fictitious figures and were not accurate."
The attorney said the new leaders hired a forensic accountant who uncovered that from "January 2006 through December 2011, there were excessive amounts of cash withdrawals, charges at restaurants/bars, retailers, grocery stores, and other miscellaneous stores that were not supported by receipts or invoices."
Current union president Glenn Matonak said in a statement Thursday, "In the law enforcement community, we consider ourselves brothers and sisters of our fellow co-workers, and to discover that our leaders were stealing money from us is such a huge betrayal of trust."
Investigators believe Sherry Williams stole approximately $51, 132 during her time as treasurer for the lodge from 2007 to 2011, according to court documents.
According to Broward County prosecutors, Doug Williams, who is Sherry's husband, used his lodge-assigned debit card to pay for $1,300 worth of expenses at a supermarket, home improvement stores and restaurants.
According to the Broward State Attorney's office, investigators determined Hughes may have misappropriated more than $20,000 while he was a lodge officer from 2007 to 2011.
Coral Springs Police Lieutenant Joe McHugh said the officers are innocent until proven guilty and that the chief of police wants the community to still have faith in the police department.
"The community needs to know that these are allegations. They will have their time in court," McHugh said. "Their performance as police officers had nothing to do with these allegations. These allegations are their positions on the executive board of our union. None of the funds that they're accused of taking are police department funds at all."
The money the trio is accused of stealing came from dues paid to the union by their fellow officers.
"I'm sure if they are found guilty, (officers) will be upset," McHugh said. "These are monies that we donate every single paycheck. We put money to the union. We contribute to good causes."
Coral Springs Police said they learned of this investigation by the Broward State Attorney's Office last fall and, at that point, all three officers were suspended with pay.
Coral Springs Police said the Williams' resigned on Thursday, while Hughes' fate rests on a meeting he'll soon have with the Coral Springs City Manager.
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