{"id":6921,"date":"2013-08-08T09:29:58","date_gmt":"2013-08-08T13:29:58","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/coatesvilletimes.com\/?p=6921"},"modified":"2013-08-09T14:22:17","modified_gmt":"2013-08-09T18:22:17","slug":"decorated-ex-detective-probed-over-alleged-thefts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/coatesvilletimes.com\/?p=6921","title":{"rendered":"Decorated ex-detective probed over alleged thefts"},"content":{"rendered":"

Search warrants allege Gerald Pawling stole $75,000 from two nonprofits<\/strong><\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

By Kathleen Brady Shea<\/span><\/strong>, Managing Editor, The Times<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

\"Money\"<\/a>A retired Coatesville detective is the focus of attention that differs dramatically from the days when he was applauded for his coaching and mentoring.<\/p>\n

Chester County Detectives executed two search warrants at the Caln Township residence of Gerald D. Pawling on July 24 and 25. Pawling, whose accolades included a county-wide 2011 award for crime-victim advocacy, is now accused of stealing more than $75,000 from organizations he assisted.<\/p>\n

His attorney, Daniel R. Bush, said Pawling is \u201cfully cooperating\u201d with the investigation by the District Attorney\u2019s Office.\u00a0 \u201cGerald has done an amazing amount of good for the people of Coatesville for the last two decades,\u201d said Bush. \u201cWe\u2019re looking forward to clearing this matter up.\u201d<\/p>\n

According to the search warrants prepared by Chester County Det. Thomas J. Goggin, Pawling, 42, who took an early-retirement option in May 2012, became the focus of the investigation on April 30. Coatesville Det. Kevin Campbell, who took over the presidency of the Coatesville Police Benevolent Association (CPBA), a post previously held by Pawling, found \u201ca pattern of suspicious payments\u201d when he reviewed the books \u2013 numerous unauthorized checks to Pawling and his wife, Stacey Pawling, the warrants said.<\/p>\n

The search warrants said some of the checks also contained former Coatesville Lt. Rita Shesko\u2019s signature; however, she told investigators her name was forged on 20 CPBA checks. Lt. James Audette, whose signature appeared on three CPBA checks, also signed \u201ca written statement confirming that his signature has been forged,\u201d the search warrants said.<\/p>\n

The probe widened to include the Coatesville Police Athletic League (CPAL) – where Pawling served as executive director – after Goggin received information from the Internal Revenue Service, the search warrants said. In addition to failing to file tax documents for the organization since 2008, Pawling\u2019s account listed checks for \u201cPAL building rental\u201d even though CPAL was not charged rent for its facility on North Church Street, the warrants said.<\/p>\n

After the first search warrant was executed on July 24, Goggin filed a second one, having seen financial documents that \u201cwere not known at the time of the original warrant.\u201d The follow-up warrant, executed the next day, sought delinquency notices for county taxes, HFC Mortgage payments with late charges listed, Sheller Oil Company overdue notice, unpaid Caln Township taxes, and a Franklin Mint bank account with $97.99 in overdraft fees, the warrant said.<\/p>\n

Besides the financial records, Goggin observed Coatesville City Police reports, investigation files, and evidence room envelopes inside Pawling\u2019s residence, the warrant said. Goggin contacted Coatesville Police Chief Jack Laufer, who responded to the scene and confirmed that the materials were police property that should not have left the station, the warrant said.<\/p>\n

\u201cBased upon the location of the evidence envelopes and the investigation files, and because they were outside of the police department without authorization, your affiant was able to conclude the crime of theft has occurred,\u201d Goggin wrote in the search warrant affidavit.<\/p>\n

According to the warrant\u2019s inventory list, two evidence envelopes were seized, one of which listed $5,500 and the other, $307.<\/p>\n

The warrants said that as the treasurer of CPBA and the executive director of CPAL, a charitable organization set up to promote the needs and welfare of youth, Pawling had access to both organization\u2019s bank accounts. \u201cA review of financial records and interviews of witnesses has revealed that, from 2009-2012, through the activities of Gerald and Stacey Pawling, a total of $75,567.13 was stolen from these two organizations by misappropriating funds, forgery, and other means,\u201d the affidavit said.<\/p>\n

Laufer acknowledged that there is \u201can active criminal investigation being conducted by the Chester County District Attorney\u2019s Office and the County Detectives; as such, the city will have no comment.\u201d<\/p>\n

Pawling also garnered unwelcome attention during high-profile litigation that sprang from a dispute dating back to Aug. 11, 2011, when Coatesville Officer Amy Nicholl complained that a group of male officers had suggested that she was appointed to a court liaison job because she was sleeping with Lt. Chris McEvoy, a married superior.<\/p>\n

In a federal lawsuit filed by Nicholl that has since been settled, she alleged that her complaint was quickly overshadowed by investigators\u2019 prurient interest in her relationship with McEvoy, a consensual affair the city did not prohibit.<\/p>\n

In the suit, Nicholl said her Evo 4G, a cellphone that Nicholl bought but used for work, was seized illegally because it contained inappropriate messages from former Police Chief Julius M. Canale as well as Pawling. A Chester County Court judge ordered it returned to her, court records said.<\/p>\n

The cell phone\u2019s return set up a hearing in June 2012 after Nicholl said the incriminating material had been erased. Shesko testified that Pawling, who had custody of the SIM card, told Shesko he lost it, court records said. Bush said he advised Pawling to assert his Fifth Amendment privilege and decline to testify, explaining that his client had been ordered by the Attorney General\u2019s Office to appear before a grand jury, which was also investigating the alleged improprieties. The Attorney General\u2019s Office will not comment on what, if any, probe is pending.<\/p>\n

Pawling, a graduate of Coatesville Area High School, joined the Police Department in 1995 and was promoted to detective in 2001. In a 2011 interview, he said he considered a police career in high school but opted to study business in college, a plan interrupted by the birth of the first of his five children.<\/p>\n

To support his young family, Pawling said he worked in sales for Utz potato chips, attending the Police Academy part time. Upon graduating, he said he was thrilled when he got his first-choice job: working for the City of Coatesville. In his spare time, he was active as a youth coach and mentor.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Search warrants allege Gerald Pawling stole $75,000 from two nonprofits By Kathleen Brady Shea, Managing Editor, The Times A retired Coatesville detective is the focus of attention that differs dramatically from the days when he was applauded for his coaching and mentoring. Chester County Detectives executed two search warrants at the Caln Township residence of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":6925,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4,3],"tags":[444,2647,688,2392,2645,2649,2648,2646,1071,2644],"class_list":["post-6921","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","category-featured","tag-caln-township","tag-chester-county-det-thomas-j-goggin","tag-chester-county-district-attorneys-office","tag-coatesville-det-kevin-campbell","tag-coatesville-lt-rita-shesko","tag-coatesville-officer-amy-nicholl","tag-coatesville-police-athletic-league-cpal","tag-coatesville-police-benevolent-association-cpba","tag-daniel-r-bush","tag-gerald-d-pawling"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/coatesvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6921","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/coatesvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/coatesvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/coatesvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/coatesvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=6921"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/coatesvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6921\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/coatesvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/6925"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/coatesvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=6921"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/coatesvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=6921"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/coatesvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=6921"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}