GovernmentExecutive.com

Patrick M. Wynne, a detention officer at an Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility, pleaded guilty Tuesday to charges of embezzlement for stealing money and other valuables from detained immigrants waiting for expulsion decisions, according to the Justice Department.

For stealing as much as $290,000 from more than 500 detainees at the Monroe, Mich., detention facility, Wynne faces up to 57 months in prison, a $250,000 fine and full restitution of the property he pilfered.

Wynne, 33, began stealing from detainees in 2000, according to information released by the U.S. Attorney's Office for Michigan's Eastern District, when he worked for the Justice Department's Immigration and Naturalization Service. With the formation of the Homeland Security Department, Wynne's facility became part of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement division of Homeland Security.

A Milan, Mich., resident, Wynne was the property officer at the detention facility and was responsible for making sure detainees' property was safe and given back to its rightful owner after a decision on whether to deport or release the detainee was issued.

Wynne entered his guilty plea before U.S. District Court Judge Julian Able Cook Jr. in Detroit. His sentencing hearing is scheduled for Nov. 15 at 2 p.m.

U.S. Attorney for the district Stephen J. Murphy said in a statement that Wynne's actions were "an absolute betrayal of his duties as a federal law enforcement officer," and "violations of the public trust are among the most serious felonies" that the office prosecutes.

Thomas Frost, the special agent in charge of the Homeland Security's Illinois office of inspector general, said that Wynne's conviction sends a clear message to Homeland Security employees who are considering whether to engage in criminal activity because they "will be aggressively pursued and prosecuted."

COMMENTS

• Why act surprised? Just another crook employed by the government. Military retiree Posted August 8, 2005 8:38 PM