Steve Baker, an investigative reporter with Blaze Media who was recently arrested in connection with his work as an independent journalist documenting the events of January 6th, was joined by several current and former uniformed members of the U.S. Capitol Police. We have a shocking new report showing an arrest. Among them is the deputy director of the United States Communist Party who recently testified before Congress, who was rewarded with a prestigious promotion despite past professional scandals that were ultimately swept under the rug, and who effectively failed. finished.
“Ask me what they call it”: Overtime pay fraud
The main focus of Baker’s investigation is the overtime pay scandal in the USCP VIP protection division that occurred about a decade and a half ago and reportedly lasted at least a year. There are at least three known participants in the scandal: Wendy Colmore, John Erickson, and Sean Gallagher.
In January 2010, former U.S. Army Staff Sergeant Rhoda Henderson, long retired, questioned some of the overtime figures submitted by Colmore, Erickson and Gallagher. According to a July 2014 report: national journalBecause DPD officers could not earn more than $8,596 every two weeks, there were limits on how many overtime hours they could report.
To circumvent this rule and ensure they receive payment for all OT hours, Mr. Colmore, Mr. Erickson, and Mr. Gallagher decided to “time-shift” their hours into other pay periods so that they were below the $8,596 threshold. ”, Mr. Henderson claimed.
When Henderson first reported the allegations in the summer of 2012, she said her boss dismissed her. But she had amassed a treasure trove of digital receipts that revealed her fraud.
An internal agency memorandum dated a year later indicated that “all three” would eventually address the scandal. “All three maintain that this is not a conspiracy,” Baker said in the memo. “So what was that? Ask me what you call it when all three of you agree to an after-hours backfill and don’t notify the chain of command.”
Mr. Henderson recently told Mr. Baker that Mr. Colmore, Mr. Erickson and Mr. Gallagher committed “felony crimes” when committing fraud and should have at least been immediately fired. In 2014, she told the National Journal, “If it had been me or any other officer (not the command staff) who committed this crime, we would have been fired. There’s no doubt about it,” he said.
Jim Conchos, then executive chairman of the Capitol Police Labor Board, agreed. “If these allegations are true, this is criminal in nature and in no way administrative,” Konchos said. “This behavior should be fired and nothing else. We can’t have bosses stealing our time and money. This behavior is not only a crime, it undermines the department’s efficiency and reputation.” .”
“Fooled the government”: Lieutenant Wendy Colmore
When questioned in 2013, Gallagher, then a USCP captain and the supervisor of Colmore and Erickson, pointed to Colmore, a lieutenant, as the architect of the plan. A memorandum from the same year shows that Colmore had previously contacted his superiors to inquire about the rules governing “time shifts.” Despite receiving a response that such behavior was not allowed, Colmore and his colleagues apparently began falsifying timesheets anyway.
Overall, Colmore’s role in the scheme “defrauded the government of $6,870,” according to USCP documents reviewed by Baker. Mr. Colmore also faced “sustained suspicions of fraudulent conduct” in a separate internal affairs investigation in 2000.
Despite these marks on his record, Colmore was recommended for demotion to sergeant but was not fired. She left her USCP in 2014 and U.S. Senate Sergeant at Arms A year later, according to some information, linkedin A profile that appears to be hers.
‘Blackout and extremely intoxicated’: Deputy Chief John Erickson
As disgusting as some of Colmore’s actions were, Erickson’s past transgressions were even more egregious. Not only was he suspended for 20 days and ordered to pay back at least some of the money he swindled for his involvement in the overtime scheme, he was also reportedly caught twice, once on duty and twice for driving under the influence. There is.
The first incident occurred in San Antonio, Texas, in 1997, when Erickson was providing security for then-House Speaker Newt Gingrich. Shortly before 3:30 a.m. on June 28 of that year, Erickson was in a “government-rented convertible” parked on the side of the road, “passing out with his head on his chest, extremely intoxicated.” It was discovered in a “dead condition”. police report Said. Officers testified that his speech was “slurred,” his breath smelled of “intoxicants,” and his eyes were “bloodshot.”
Erickson refused to submit to a breathalyzer, was arrested, and spent several hours in jail. He was subsequently given a warning and a 10-day suspension without pay by USCP, according to USCP documents reviewed by Baker.
However, Erickson didn’t seem to learn that lesson, and less than five years later he was involved in a more serious alcohol-related incident. In January 2002, Erickson was off-duty when his car swerved and collided with a Maryland State Police cruiser parked on Route 50 in New Carrollton, Maryland, just outside Washington, D.C. It is reported that. A police officer was in the car at the time and suffered “minor injuries” during the crash. washington post It was reported at the time.
After the incident, Erickson was suspended for 30 days without pay, charged with indecent conduct and entered into a “last chance agreement in lieu of termination,” according to USCP documents.
However, these serious marks left on his record do not seem to have negatively affected his USCP career. In fact, he continues to progress so much that some people call him “Teflon John.” The year after the overtime scandal, Erickson was promoted to captain, and a penalty assessment memorandum related to the scandal called him an “outstanding employee.”
Last October, Erickson was appointed to the USCP Deputy chief.
“Golden Boy”: Deputy Chief Sean Gallagher
Of the three uniformed USCP officers caught in the overtime scandal, Sean Gallagher was supposed to receive the worst punishment. Gallagher was captain at the time the scandal broke and was tasked with signing timesheets submitted by Colmore and Eriksson. However, Gallagher forged the signature of his boss, Inspector Daniel Malloy, on the timesheet and chose a different colored pen, apparently to hide his wrongdoing.
This was not the first time Mr. Gallagher had dabbled with counterfeiting at USCP. He was also the subject of a previous internal affairs investigation, in which he was alleged to have “fabricated his superiors.” [sic] “The signatures were never of any personal benefit,” Baker said in the USCP document.
These words may have bothered Gallagher, who is believed to have pocketed an extra $10,000 as a result of the time shift. Documents related to the case allege that he was motivated by “significant personal gain” from the case.
Mr. Gallagher was supposed to have paid back all the money he had stolen from the department and be demoted to lieutenant, but it is unclear whether that punishment was actually carried out. An anonymous USCP official with knowledge of the matter told Baker that Gallagher remained captain and was only suspended for 10 days before being promoted to inspector in 2018.
Within the next three years, gallagher Earned two more promotions. He was appointed as Deputy Chief of USCP in 2019 and became Deputy Chief in June 2021.
When asked why uniformed officers like Gallagher received such seemingly preferential treatment despite serious, even criminal, blunders, Baker, the only one willing to go on record, said: Former USCP Capt. Eric Keenan, one of the current and former USCP officers, said Gallagher ingratiated himself with influential people within the department.
Keenan told Baker that “from day one” Gallagher was “a golden boy who did nothing wrong.”
An SS: USCP and political influence
As disgusting as the conduct of some people in federal law enforcement is, the larger problem with these scandals at USCP is that they are putting unscrupulous individuals into positions of significant power. It’s visible, argued Steve Baker. Earlier this month, Chief of Staff Sean Gallagher even testified at a Congressional hearing about pipe bombs being planted near the headquarters of the Republican and Democratic National Committees hours before the Jan. 6 protests.
Baker believes Gallagher, Deputy Chief John Erickson and former Lt. Wendy Colmore are representative of a deeper problem at USCP. “The U.S. Capitol Police knows ‘where the body was buried’ and who buried it,” Baker claimed. “This gives them tremendous power and the ability to influence the outcome of even controversial or closely contested bills.”
The USCP officers appear to have usurped too much power from elected officials, and Mr. Baker calls them the Praetorian Corps, a proud officer corps once tasked with protecting the Roman Emperor. Although compared to the Guard, it ultimately transformed into what was essentially an elitist group of gatekeepers controlling the Empire. .
Despite possible corruption at the top of the U.S. Communist Party and the Biden administration’s apparent prosecution of him for exercising his constitutional rights as a member of the free press, Baker says he is not deterred. To tell. “Blaze Media’s investigation into Capitol Police corruption will continue,” he said.
Neither USCP nor Wendy Colmore responded to Blaze News’ requests for comment.
