"CC" means carbon copy

Credit Card, An Officer, A Charity and Trouble
St. Petersburg Times/Mary Jo Melone - Tuesday, October 17, 2000

Tampa Bay Law Enforcement Charities was set up last year to do good. It was established to do good in the part of St. Petersburg where police Chief Go Davis wants his cops to do good, in the neighborhoods south of Central Avenue where a lot of ordinary kids, no matter how hard they try, don't have much chance to succeed at life.

TBLEC, as the charity calls itself, has a football team made up of Pinellas police and firefighters who play teams from public safety agencies across the country. You buy a ticket, you see macho guys get to be more macho, you have a good time, you help a good cause.

But somebody tried to hurt this good cause. For his own gain. That would be bad enough, but he's a cop, and he got away with it.

St. Petersburg burglary Detective Cleven Wyatt , until recently an officer of TBLEC, ran up about $6,000 in personal bills this summer on a credit card that was supposed to be used only for the charity's needs. He wrote $4,300 in the form of counter checks, bought $850 in airline tickets, ran up a $237 tab at a St. Pete Beach resort and charged $770 in school expenses at Saint Leo University. The figures came from Helen Wade, the wife of a St. Petersburg firefighter and a former member of the charity's board.

But Wyatt didn't commit a crime, a police investigation concluded last month. Wyatt's name and TBLEC's name were both on the card, but he guaranteed payment. Even the credit card company saw no crime.

Fair enough. So Wyatt broke no law.

But what about his ethics?

According to the charity's then president, Detective Carl Watts, if Wyatt didn't pay, the charity would be held liable.

Yet Wyatt wasn't even the subject of a formal internal affairs investigation for, say, conduct unbecoming an officer. It was a civil dispute, the brass decided.

That must have given Wyatt the idea to show just how much nerve he has. If it was a civil matter, then what the heck - why not sue the charity?

He did, in late September.

He sued TBLEC in small claims court for failing to pay him $780 in expenses the charity board had authorized. The charity paid the credit card company instead.

This dispute began in late August. A hearing is to be held today in court. He says he has paid the bill, so it's unclear what is left to fix, except Wyatt's attitude. "It's my credit card, and I made loans to them, and they owe me money," he said last week. "I was just being nice."

I asked whether he didn't have a responsibility to use the credit card for just the charity's business. "You're putting another spin on this," he objected.

Then he said I didn't have the whole story. He asked me to hold off writing this column until he could work things out. I agreed He promised to call Monday with the rest of the story. He didn't.

Maybe I don't have the whole story. But I do know that some St. Petersburg cops get hammered for unethical conduct. And some don't.

At first, the department almost blew off the complaint against Wyatt, which was brought by Helen Wade. About a week was spent on it. Then Wade wrote to Chief Davis about how little had been done.

"In the course of this `investigation,' " Wade told Davis, "I only talked to a Major Williams (Luke Williams of internal affairs) twice for a few minutes and (assistant chief Bill Proffitt) once. . . . He said that he had met with Mr. Wyatt and Mr. Wyatt had provided documentation to him. I never got to see the documentation or provide any of my own."

After she complained, detectives took a second look, but it didn't change the result.

According to the PBA, Detective Wyatt is on the list of candidates who will be considered next month for promotion to sergeant

the city's hurt " BRING BACK CURT" meaning chief curt curtsinger not moron curt donelly

Mr. Mayor,
...I will reiterate Chief Jerry Geier should and has the ability to lead your Police Department...

Cleven L. Wyatt

Clev doesn't even live in St. Pete. If he wants to be a civic activist, he should contact the mayor in the city where he lives more than
20 miles away.

Hopefully when Bevan gets picked chief, Wyatt is one of a long list of horrible officers in leadership positions that flees before she has him transferred to Lt of the bathroom division.

Why is he so against the PBA all of a sudden? It was their wonderful Xmas party where he was able to get all the unwanted ass grabbing he wanted on the dance floor, then when complaint is made, it got swept under the rug by staff.

He should love the PBA and the parties.

Oh yes. Whatever happened to that investigation: to shameful to make formal and announce on twitter and mass email to media the outcome of? TALK ABOUT HOLDING SUPERISORS AND OFFICERS TO ACCOUNTABILITY.

Hopefully when Bevan gets picked chief, Wyatt is one of a long list of horrible officers in leadership positions that flees before she has him transferred to Lt of the bathroom division.

The rule of succession doesn't work that way. Irksome personnel matters are typically handled prior to the new chief taking over. If all goes as planned, Dekay will sweep the floor.

Y'all are too young perhaps to remember that before there was the allegation of official misuse of funds involving the charity, there was a pile of money gone south at PAL when Wyatt and Ofc Lerric Boyd booked trips on the company dime. Under the auspices of serving disadvantaged youths, while a burglary detective, Wyatt flew to various cities on duty.

And before that, he was investigated for misusing his investigative expense account in the Vice and Narcotics Division.

But all that is water under the bridge. Goliath Davis promoted him and the rules about his conduct have not applied.

When it comes to the Dear Lt., it's always having been caught in an easily explain see misunderstanding. He's never wrong. He is the God.

Y'all are too young perhaps to remember.........

Got some fresh memories :wink: The maxim about reverting to the level of your training still holds true. You need ghost hunting equipment to find Go's wonderkids Maj Hopeless & her boy Carl.