By Mike Donoghue, Vermont News First

A version of this story has been published in the Shelburne News

The newest police officer hired by Shelburne Police was quietly demoted as a Burlington Police lieutenant last year after an internal investigation showed he filed 25 timesheets that were inaccurate or untimely, according to public records.

Former Lt. Daniel C. Delgado was reduced to patrol corporal and ordered to repay $695.05 to the city of Burlington last summer because it found he had inappropriately collected taxpayer money for hours he never worked, according to interviews and records.

Chittenden County State’s Attorney Sarah F. George eventually told the department she would not file any criminal charges against Delgado, but began issuing so-called Giglio letters to defense lawyers in Chittenden County last July indicating she had found the officer was not fully honest, records show.

“Although there may be probable cause for a criminal charge, I do not believe we could prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the intent of this conduct was to defraud.  Therefore, we would not seek criminal charges at this time,” George said in a June 6, 2023 letter to then-Acting Burlington Police Chief Jon Murad.

“The allegations however, are concerning, and contain an element of untruthfulness that I believe we are required to disclose to defense counsel in any incidents which Lt. Delgado is called as a witness,” George said in the letter obtained by Vermont News First.

On July 7, 2023, George provided Murad a copy of the Giglio letter she said she intended to share with defense lawyers for cases that included Delgado as a potential witness.

Delgado’s jump to Shelburne from Burlington Police became public in a social media post by the town and a news story in the Shelburne News last week.

Repeated attempts to get a comment from Delgado this week were unsuccessful.

Shelburne Police Chief Michael Thomas said Delgado came “highly recommended” but would not say who provided the references or who actually conducted the background check for his department.

Thomas said Delgado had worked a couple years for Brandon Police and more than 11 years with Burlington.  The chief said in the end he was satisfied with the new hiring.

Shelburne Town Manager Matt Lawless, who came from Virgina last June, said he had been made aware of the demotion incident and was satisfied with the explanation.  He did say the background investigation was done within the police department and not completed by Adam Backus – the new human resources assistant hired by the town last month.

Selectboard Chair Michael Ashooh did not respond to a phone message.

 
During a special reception last Friday evening to honor three recent Shelburne Police promotions and the hiring of about a half dozen civilian employees in the past few months, attendees were told the town is still seeking to fill vacancies in the police department.

About 75 people attended the invitation-only catered event at the Shelburne Museum.

No charges

Government timecard cases have been handled different ways in Vermont.  Perhaps the biggest was a former Vermont State Police patrol commander, who falsely claimed 63 hours of overtime across two pay periods in July 2012.  He was charged within days by then-Chittenden County State’s Attorney T.J. Donovan.

The investigation eventually revealed former VSP Sgt. James Deeghan had duped Vermont taxpayers out of more than $200,000 over several years to try to build his pension.  Deeghan later pleaded guilty to four charges and was sentenced to two years in prison.  Vermont laws were changed including allowing state or local government to obtain restitution by collecting their pensions.

In the Delgado case, public records show George, as county prosecutor, said she made a determination in June 2023 that she would pass on filing any possible criminal charges.  George said her decision came after Murad provided her access to the results of the internal affairs investigation conducted by Burlington Police. 

A few hours after George privately sent the June 6, 2023 letter to an embattled Murad, he was confirmed by the Burlington City Council to be the permanent police chief.

It appears Murad or Mayor Miro Weinberger never told the City Councilors about the timesheet investigation before their vote that night.

Even after the vote, Chief Murad and his new public information officer Sarah Hernandez-Timm never disclosed the investigation or announced the demotion in a news release. 

Murad did not respond to a request for an interview this week. 

When George notified Murad about the Giglio letter last July, the chief said he appreciated her work on the case.

“Thank you for your time on this matter, and for the deep thought you put into your review of the materials we shared with you.  I am deeply appreciative of your partnership and counsel,” Murad said in an email sent to George.

Delgado was reduced to the rank of corporal, which is given to police officers that have at least seven years on the Burlington department.

Delgado, who was hired by BPD on Sept. 4, 2012, had been considered a rising star in the trouble-plagued department.  Murad moved Delgado quickly up through the ranks in recent years partially due to the high turnover rate sparked in part by the lack of support by the City Council and some in the community.

The lack of police officers in Burlington forced the city to contract with Vermont State Police to provide troopers on overtime to help patrol the trouble-plagued downtown late at night following a long series of shootings in 2022-23.

Murad had served as acting chief for about three years until enough votes were secured from the City Council to affirm the Mayor’s appointment.

The NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt included a ride-along interview with Delgado in a December 2021 news story about the poor morale that was left at the Burlington Police Department in the wake of the defunding efforts led by the extreme liberal city councilors.

Records show Delgado was paid $150,684 in 2022 by the city, compared to $87,468 in 2021.

It is unclear how much manpower Murad assigned to the Delgado investigation and why an outside police agency wasn’t called in to handle it.

Documents indicate that both deputy police chiefs, Wade Lebrecque and Brian LaBarge were involved in the internal investigation.

Murad sustained their findings, George said.  She said the 25 timesheets that were not accurate or timely also showed Delgado was not punctual on those days “and that this behavior was improper and unbecoming.”

The overpaid money was taken out of subsequent paychecks to restore the city of Burlington, she said.  

Issues over the timesheets apparently first surfaced in February 2023, according to George.

“Burlington Police discovered improprieties in then-Lieutenant Delgado’s timecards when compared to his actual work hours – specifically that several of them were entered after the fact rather than using the fingerprint scanners as is custom to the department and did not accurately reflect,” she wrote.