Former Albuquerque Police Sgt. James Geha was indicted this week on 10 counts of fraud and embezzlement for alleged time card fraud and claiming to have worked overtime hours that he didn't work.
Geha resigned from APD on Oct. 5, 2015. In his resignation letter, which we've posted below, he claims that he didn't commit fraud and that he merely failed to log into APD's Computer Aided Dispatch system, which is required of all APD uniformed officer.
The CAD system is essential for an officers' safety because it lets dispatchers know where they are, and where to send other cops if an officer is in trouble. It also serves as a check-and-balance by documenting an officer's on-duty time. Officers still have to fill out time cards, but, again, the CAD system acts as a way to verify that an officer actually worked the hours he or she has claimed.
In his resignation letter to then-APD Chief Gorden Eden, Geha says he intentionally didn't log into the CAD system for his overtime work because, “I was told and heard from others that there was a possible leak/breach in radio.”
Geha then says in his resignation letter: “I understand I violated policy in taking this course of action.”
After resigning from APD, Geha got a job as a fraud investigator with the state's Tax and Revenue Department. He was placed on paid leave earlier this month after KRQE-TV asked about how he was able to get the job when he was under investigation for fraud. The TV station reported this week that Tax and Revenue is now in the process of firing Geha.