The San Benito County District Attorney’s Office charged a 911
dispatcher and local tow-truck operator Tuesday with illegally
using criminal records to bolster a small claims court case.
Hollister – The San Benito County District Attorney’s Office charged a 911 dispatcher and local tow-truck operator Tuesday with illegally using criminal records to bolster a small claims court case.
San Benito County Communications dispatcher Jeffrey Horan and B & C Towing owner Paul Greer each face up to three years in prison if convicted of one felony and one misdemeanor charge of using the California Law Enforcement Telecommunications System criminal database illegally, according to District Attorney John Sarsfield. The CLETS system is a statewide database that law enforcement agencies use to instantly access someone’s criminal history, including prior arrests, acquittals and violations, Sarsfield said. In layman’s terms, it’s someone’s rap sheet, he said.
Greer denies any wrong doing and was unaware Wednesday he had been charged. Horan could not be reached for comment.
“Oh my God,” Greer said. “I’ve heard nothing about it.”
Instead of answering detailed questions about the charges, Greer directed all questions to his attorney, Arthur Cantu, who he retained Wednesday after being informed of the charges by the Free Lance. Cantu was largely unaware of the basis for the charges and hadn’t seen a copy of the police report Wednesday, but adamantly denied any instances of wrong doing on his client’s part.
“I look forward to sitting down with my client and going over the police report with him,” Cantu said.
Cantu didn’t know much about his client Wednesday, but said through his towing company he has a contract with the county in assisting and seizing vehicles impounded through law enforcement activities.
Cantu didn’t know much about his client’s alleged co-conspirator, but Marshal Robert Scattini said Horan worked as a deputy marshal for about eight years and never had any problems with Horan while he worked for his department.
The charges stem from a San Benito County Sheriff’s investigation into the pair after a dispatch supervisor witnessed Horan and Greer, also known as Vince Cardinalli, Jr., participating in suspicious behavior last December, according to a report written by Detective Sgt. Chris Green.
According to the report, Greer frequented the communications center and asked Horan to obtain information off the CLETS computer about a man named Hector Vargas. Dispatch supervisor Jennifer Zander told Green she saw Greer come into the dispatch center in December and furtively hand Horan a piece of paper. Several minutes later, she saw Horan log onto the CLETS computer, print out a piece of paper, fold it in half and give it back to Greer, who “secreted the record behind him in his pants,” according to Green’s report.
After Zander saw the suspicious behavior she checked Horan’s computer records after he got off work, according to the report. Vargas’ name came up on Horan’s computer, but there was no reason for Horan to search Vargas’ personal information, so she kept investigating Horan’s behavior. She knew Greer owned a towing company, so she obtained a list of civil cases B & C Towing was involved with in 2004 and Vargas’ name appeared on the list. Zander took her information to the sheriff’s department, which prompted Green to call both Greer and Horan in for an interview.
Greer denied any wrong doing during his interview, and although he said he used Horan as a process server for about four months, said he wasn’t involved in any illegal activity with Horan, according to the report.
Greer said he had his own computer programs to search for personal information, but mentioned an unusual conversation he had with Horan during his interview with Green, according to the report.
“Greer said he remembered a conversation with Horan in which Greer told Horan that he was serving a lot of people successfully who were hard to find,” according to the report. “Horan responded that it was just luck. Greer found it to be unusual but did not inquire further, as Greer was only concerned with the people being process served.”
During his investigation, Green interviewed another dispatcher who works with Horan who said he noticed that Horan would receive both phone calls and visits from Greer. The dispatcher told the detective that when Greer and Horan would meet they conducted themselves in a secret nature, “in which they would whisper and Greer would talk to Horan while Horan was typing on his personal laptop computer,” according to the report. Although the dispatcher told Green he didn’t see anything illegal, he believed Horan may have been using the CLETS machine unlawfully, according to the report.
While Horan told Green during his interview that Greer had never asked him to run any names and that he didn’t recall entering Vargas’ name into his computer, he admitted that in the past he witnessed several people unlawfully accessing information with the CLETS system. He also admitted to illegally using it to find out where someone lived, according to the report.
Green stated in his report that he told Horan it is a crime to access the system unlawfully, but because the sheriff’s office maintains the computers, the sheriff could overlook any past indiscretions if Horan was “no longer in the position to use the CLETS machines,” according to the report.
“I informed Horan that it appeared that there are misdemeanor violations that could be supported by Horan’s actions alone, but the sheriff has the discretion to pursue those charges or not pursue them,” Green stated. “Horan advised that he would call me back after he had time to think about the issue. Horan never called me back.”
Horan and Greer are scheduled to be arraigned on May 31 for the two charges.
Erin Musgrave covers public safety for the Free Lance. Reach her at 637-5566, ext. 336 or em*******@fr***********.com.
