No charges against former Mamaroneck police detective

No charges against former Mamaroneck police detective
The Journal News by Robert Marchant - June 14, 2008

The village of Mamaroneck police department is dropping charges against a former detective who had been accused of taking money from a safe at police headquarters. Mayor Kathleen Savolt said the village Board of Trustees had been notified that the department no longer was pursuing a disciplinary case against Joseph Comblo, who had denied he was the person who took $23,383 from an evidence locker at police headquarters in January. Savolt said she was notified that the case was dropped on procedural grounds - the department did not have the legal standing to pursue a disciplinary case against the former detective, based on the timing of his retirement.

Comblo was submitting his retirement papers the week that the money was discovered missing. Comblo's lawyer, Jonathan Lovett, said his client was innocent and was targeted as a scapegoat in the theft of the money. Of the $23,383 in missing cash, $18,323 has been reimbursed by the village's insurance carrier. The mayor said the village administration would initiate a full-scale review of the police department and its management in light of the recent case and previous controversies involving police personnel. The village board was already having preliminary discussions with consulting firms that would carry out the review. "It's long overdue," the mayor said.

"We have to figure this out," Savolt said. "We have issues with morale, and we need to address that, and policies, procedures, training, everything. Let's look at everything. We have to make sure the taxpayers are getting their money's worth." According to another Mamaroneck village trustee, Thomas Murphy, "This department and the fine men and women who work there have been under a cloud for years. The entire board supports them and recognizes that they deserve better." Both Lovett and John O'Reilly, the attorney for the police department, did not return calls for comment yesterday afternoon. The case against Comblo had proved divisive in the community, with dozens of residents coming to village hall to show support for the detective.