3 city cops resign, plead guilty over ‘double dipping’
Three veteran Columbus police officers have pleaded guilty to criminal charges and resigned and 17 more are under administrative investigation over allegations that they engaged in “time theft” and double-dipping by simultaneously working for the city and on special duty for private employers.
William R. Mccague, 55, Robert A. Thissen, 52, and Joseph A. Townsend, 51, each pleaded guilty Thursday morning in Franklin County Municipal Court to a single misdemeanor count of dereliction of duty as part of a plea deal that included an agreement to retire.
Judge James E. Green accepted the pleas and imposed $88 in fines for each defendant to cover court costs. Joseph Gibson, chief prosecutor for the Columbus City Attorney’s office, did not request fines as part of the pleas.
Gibson said prosecutors agreed not to take the cases to a Franklin County grand jury — where more serious charges could have resulted — if the officers resigned and pleaded guilty to the single misdemeanor count. As a result, jail time and probation were not involved.
Each defendant appeared separately with their defense attorneys, Mark Collins and Kaitlyn Stevens, in front of the judge for brief hearings Thursday morning, during which their guilty pleas were entered but none of them