A Hollister police officer alleged to an outside investigator
that retired Sgt. Ray Wood told him several officers in the local
union
”
did some things
”
in the past relating to enhanced retirement benefits, and that
looking into bank records in a suspected embezzlement case would
expose them while
”
embarrassing
”
the city, according to court records.
A Hollister police officer alleged to an outside investigator that retired Sgt. Ray Wood told him several officers in the local union “did some things” in the past relating to enhanced retirement benefits, and that looking into bank records in a suspected embezzlement case would expose them while “embarrassing” the city, according to court records.
The statement was included in 10 pages of search warrant documents obtained Thursday by the Free Lance from the San Benito County Courthouse. The Hollister Police Department recently commissioned an investigator with the Santa Clara County District Attorney’s Office to examine concerns of suspected embezzlement from the union by Wood, who was president of the Hollister Police Officers Association, Inc. for more than 14 years before retiring in December.
The documents include statements from several employees with the police department, including Officer Bo Leland. The outside investigator, Terrence Simpson, noted that his interview with Leland included an account the officer gave him about a conversation with Wood “within the last few weeks” before the search warrant was obtained.
Simpson’s statement described how Leland and Wood had been “talking socially on the phone” when the union account issue came up.
According to the investigator’s statement: “Ray Wood said that six or seven individuals did some things relating to the HPOAI’s effort to get enhanced retirement benefits from the city and that the HPOAI records would expose these individuals.”
The statement went on: “Ray Wood insisted that these individuals did not do anything illegal, but that Ray Wood would not expose them by releasing the bank records. Ray Wood told Officer Leland that he begged Sgt. (George) Ramirez, ‘Don’t look into it, because it’s going to be embarrassing for the POA and for the city.’ Ray Wood also said that he was losing sleep over the whole thing.”
Ramirez, the current police union president, declined to comment on the matter.
“I do appreciate the question,” Ramirez said. “This is an open, pending criminal investigation. We are fully cooperating with whatever the investigator needs.”
City Manager Clint Quilter, who oversees union negotiations for Hollister, also declined to comment.
“I can’t talk about an investigation, but I assume that would be part of any investigation,” he said.
