IL Police Commander Charged Over Bogus DUI Arrests

Cooked the books to get federal funding

A former police commander in Des Plaines, Illinois was brought up on charges last Wednesday by prosecutors who say he lied about drunk-driving (DUI) arrests. According to US Attorney Gary S. Shapiro, Timothy J. Veit was caught creating 122 bogus drunk driving arrests in an effort to boost the police department's revenue with federal overtime payments. Between 2009 and 2012, the effort generated $132,893 in bogus payments.

The source of the funds was the US Transportation Department's Sustained Traffic Enforcement Program (STEP), which funnels federal gas tax dollars through the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) to bankroll traffic ticket-writing blitzes that typically take place on holiday weekends. Veit was in charge of his department's STEP campaign, which meant he had to meet a clearly specified traffic ticket quota to qualify for the monetary reward.