The Cannon County town of Woodbury must repay $28,000 in federal grant money received by its former police chief, reports WSMV-TV. Kevin Mooneyham has been indicted on charges he faked overtime claims to draw down the funds.
In January 2013, a federal grant was awarded paying for overtime for officers to perform DUI stops.
…By city code, Mooneyham is not authorized to earn overtime because he’s a salaried employee. One week, his timesheet showed he earned 42 overtime hours on top of his salary.
“It’s gut wrenching,” Woodbury Mayor Harold Patrick said.
…A Tennessee Department of Transportation audit found Mooneyham did not follow the requirements of the grant, including the fact there was no DUI enforcement on holidays known for drunk driving, including Fourth of July and St. Patrick’s Day.
“It’s a major concern because we want to use the grant money specifically the way it’s supposed to be used,” Patrick said.
…Woodbury must now repay more than $28,000 that Mooneyham earned in overtime.
“The city’s on the hook for $28,000,” Patrick said. “We have to suck it up and pay it. That’s all we can do.”
Since 2013, Mooneyham recorded more than 1,600 hours of overtime. In that time, the I-Team found record of him writing 43 traffic tickets for speeding and similar offenses. The I-Team could only find one DUI arrest made by Mooneyham since 2013 during his overtime hours. That arrest came from a domestic call he responded to.