Category Archives: Corruption
Corrupt cop jailed
A former police sergeant has been jailed for 10 months for trying to sell a story about celebrity Katie Price’s daughter to the News of the World.
James Bowes contacted the now defunct Sunday tabloid newspaper and told a journalist that police child protection officers had gone to the home of Price’s former husband Peter Andre in Brighton.
This followed a report that the couple’s daughter, Princess Tiaamii, then aged two, had been injured in 2010, the Old Bailey heard.
The team found no untoward injuries to the child and the matter was not taken further, the court was told.
But Bowes, who worked for in Brighton for Sussex Police, emailed the newspaper asking for money for the information.
The story was printed with information from another source and Bowes was never paid.
Bowes, 30, from Steyning, West Sussex, pleaded guilty last month to misconduct in public office.
The court heard that he passed information to the Sun newspaper about a child who was bitten by a fox and was paid £500.
And he passed on details of a psychic who had contacted police about a search for bodies in two former Brighton homes in 2010 of serial killer Peter Tobin, but was not paid.
Bowes was charged by officers from Operation Elveden, the Metropolitan Police investigation into police corruption.
Mr Justice Fulford told Bowes: “You have made available to the press confidential information concerning children.
“Your explanation is that it was a foolish attempt by you to be in some part associated with notorious or high-profile cases.”
Bowes had abused his position of trust and undermined the relationship the police had with the public.
Stephen Wedd, defending, said Bowes had now given £500 to the Crimestoppers charity, and had been dismissed by Sussex Police.
Mark Bryant-Heron, prosecuting, told the court that Bowes had access to the police computer to get information about the three reports in 2010.
Andre and Price had separated and there was a report of injuries to the couple’s daughter.
“The child protection team established no untoward injuries,” said Mr Bryant-Heron.
The following day Bowes emailed the News of the World news desk but was told that the newspaper already had the information.
“Clearly, the News of the World had access to other sources for information,” he added.
Bowes had emailed the Sun after a fox attacked a child at a birthday party and was paid after providing the contact details of the parents.
The father told the court he had to move his family away from their home until the fuss died down after the story was printed.
He also contacted the newspaper about the psychic who was later contacted by a journalist.
No story was published and Bowes was not paid, but the psychic said she had lost confidence in the police.
Mr Bryant-Heron told the court the child protection team “established very quickly that there were no bruises or injuries” to Tiaamii.
He said: “Peter Andre has made a statement saying he was hurt and embarrassed by the story.”
EXCLUSIVE! Corrupt Prison Officers Lose Appeal
Karen Cosford
Three corrupt female prison officers, one of who had sexual intercourse with a convicted rapist three times inside a maximum security prison, have lost their appeals against conviction.
Karen Cosford (above), 47, had sex with inmate Brian McBride, who was serving a life sentence at Wakefield Prison, during a relationship that lasted several months had her appeal dismissed by the Court of Appeal headed by Lord Justice Leveson.
Two of her colleagues, Carolyn Falloon and Jacqueline Flynn, who were also jailed for “covering up” the affair and “abusing their position of trust” also lost their appeals against conviction.
All three had appealed their convictions of misconduct in public office on the basis that they were technically prison nurses and not prison officers, with the result they claimed that they could not be convicted of misconduct in an office they did not hold.
Dismissing the appeals Lord Justice Leveson said :”In our judgment, the [argument] that “a nurse is a nurse” does not start to do justice to the task which these appellants undertook.
“The responsibilities of a nurse in a general hospital are to the patients for whose care they are responsible; the responsibilities of a nurse (whether trained as a prison officer or not) in a prison setting are not only for the welfare of the prisoners (their patients); they are also responsible to the public for, so far as it is within their power to do so, the proper, safe and secure running of the prison in which they work.
“Whether the prison is run directly by the state or indirectly through a private company paid by the state to perform this function does not alter the public nature of the duties of those undertaking the work: the responsibilities to the public are identical.
“These appeals are dismissed”
Bailed Corrupt Cop Faces Jail
LATEST
A former police sergeant is facing jail after admitting selling information to The Sun newspaper.
James Bowes (above), 30, from Steyning, West Sussex, pleaded guilty at the Old Bailey today to misconduct in public office in 2010.
He was remanded on unconditional bail to be sentenced on May 9.
Mr Justice Fulford warned him that the fact he had been given bail was “no indication of disposal”.
No details of the case were given during the short hearing.
Bowes is said to have passed on information of investigations to the tabloid between April 9 and July 20 2010 while working for Sussex Police.
See earlier reports below for more details
Corrupt Cop Faces Jail
A former Sussex Police sergeant is facing jail after admitting selling information to The Sun newspaper.
James Bowes (above), 30, from Steyning, West Sussex, pleaded guilty at the Old Bailey on Friday to misconduct in public office in 2010.
He was remanded on unconditional bail to be sentenced on May 9.
Mr Justice Fulford warned him that the fact he had been given bail was “no indication of disposal”.
No details of the case were given during the short hearing.
Bowes is said to have passed on information of investigations to the tabloid between April 9 and July 20 2010 while working for Sussex Police.
An earlier hearing before magistrates was told he contacted the News of the World newsdesk offering to provide information from a confidential police report to the newspaper and asking what the information was worth.
Then on April 19 he contacted The Sun and offered to sell them information, including names and contact details.
An article was subsequently published and Mr Bowes was paid £500.
In July that year, 2010, he contacted the same unnamed journalist at The Sun and provided information about a police search that was due to take place, leading to a number of stories, but was not remunerated.
Bowes was charged by officers from Operation Elveden, the Metropolitan police investigation into police corruption.
Last month in separate cases ex-Surrey Pc Alan Tierney and former prison officer Richard Trunkfield were both jailed for selling stories to the Sun.
Trunkfield, 31, passed on details about one of James Bulger’s killers, Jon Venables, while Tierney, 40, sold details of the separate arrests of footballer John Terry’s mother and Rolling Stone Ronnie Wood.
Trunkfield was sentenced to 16 months for misconduct in public office by Mr Justice Fulford at the Old Bailey, while Tierney was jailed for 10 months.
A second former police officer, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was also jailed for two years for misconduct in public office.
Student who tried to bribe his Professor gets 12 months
A failing student who offered his University of Bath professor £5,000 in cash in a bid to pass his degree has been jailed for 12 months.
Desperate Yang Li, 26, had a loaded replica gun and the money in his pocket when he went to meet his professor at the University of Bath.
The Innovation and Technology Management masters student had been awarded a 37% mark in his dissertation – three marks off the 40% needed to pass.
Bristol Crown Court heard Li arranged to meet Professor Andrew Graves, head of the University’s School of Management, to discuss his options after the result.
Professor Graves, who marked the dissertation, told Li he could resubmit the 12,000 word essay, appeal the mark or accept it and withdraw from the course.
But Li, who admitted a charge of bribery and possessing an imitation firearm at the court, told Professor Graves “I am a businessman” before placing £5,000 in cash on the table in front of him.
The court was told Li added: “There is a fourth option, you can keep the money if you give me a pass mark and I won’t bother you again.”
Professor Graves asked Li to leave but as the student put the money away, a replica hand gun – loaded with six pellets – fell out of his pocket and on to the floor.
Judge Michael Longman told a weeping Li that the weapon caused “fear” and “alarm” to the respected professor at the meeting on November 23 last year.
The judge said: “You attempted to persuade a university professor to behave in such a way that if it had been successful you would have undermined the integrity of the universities in the UK and the legitimacy of degrees from universities here, the University of Bath in particular.
“Your bid to achieve a pass mark by offering what was a bribe to your professor was ill conceived to the point of being a spectacular mistake and one which was doomed to fail from the start.”
Judge Longman sentenced Li to 12 months in prison for the bribery charge and six months to run concurrently for a charge of possessing an imitation firearm in a public place.
He ordered married Li, who comes from an “affluent” and “respected” family in China, to pay £4,880 in prosecution costs and a £120 surcharge.
Prosecuting, Mark Hollier said: “The final part of the course is for students to submit a dissertation of about 12,000 words. That had to be in by the first week of September. Mr Li’s dissertation was submitted that September last year.
“It was marked by Professor Graves. The pass mark is 40% and the mark awarded was 37%.”
Li’s dissertation mark was checked by external examiners from Oxford and Cambridge University and found to be correct, Mr Hollier added.
Defending Li, Blake James said Mr Li came from an affluent family in China, where his father is a respected government official and businessman.
Mr James said Li was not a “sham student” and had come to the UK in 2006 for a Computer Science degree at the University of Bath, which he passed.
Documents show Li was progressing well in his masters course until he failed the dissertation, he said.
At the time of the final module, Li was working for his father’s firm, earning £25,000 a year with a bonus of £11,000, as well as studying.
“When he learned of the result of the dissertation it was a bitter blow to him,” Mr James said.
“He genuinely felt he had done alright.”
Mr James said Li was concerned he would not be able to move from his expiring student visa to a Tier 1 visa without passing his course. His current visa has now expired.
He said Li was used to carrying large amounts of cash and had the 0.177 air pistol, used for shooting practice, on his possession as he did not want to leave it in the car during the meeting.
Li sobbed in court – where his parents, wife and parents-in-law sat in the public gallery – as the sentence was handed down. He plans to return to China with his wife, also a University of Bath student, after his release.
Prison Officer Admits Corruption
A prison officer has admitted selling secrets to the Sun newspaper today.
Prison officer Richard Trunkfield, 31, from Moulton, Northamptonshire, admitted leaking information about a high profile prisoner to the tabloid – Converse believe it relates to the face-slashing of Ian Huntley at HMP Woodhill in March 2010.
He pleaded guilty to misconduct in a public office between March 2 and April 30, 2010.
Trunkfield was arrested as part of Operation Elveden, which was set up to investigate allegations of newspapers paying police and prison officers for information.
Mark Leech editor of Converse the national newspaper for prisoners in England and Wales said for Trunkfield a prison sentence was almost inevitable.
“This prison officer breached the trust placed in him, thankfully he does not represent the majority of prison staff who act professionally and do not cash in on the information in their possession – I wonder how many other prison officers are however waiting for officers from Operation Elveden to come knocking on their door too?
“The courts take a serious view of these misconduct in public office convictions, and it seems inevitable that Trunkfield will spend some time locked up - although it will not be in his former prison.”
TOP COP FACES 58 CHARGES OF FRAUD
A former Surrey Police officer will stand trial accused of 58 charges relating to fraud.
Former Ch Insp Tanya Brookes, 45, was arrested in January and appeared at Basingstoke Magistrates’ Court earlier.
She was later bailed and is due to face trial on 12 March at Winchester Crown Court.
Surrey Police said Ms Brookes was serving with the force at the time of the alleged crimes.
She has since resigned from the force.
POLICE AND PRISON OFFICERS IN COURT
A prison officer at a high security jail will appear at Westminster Magistrates’ Court today accused of selling information relating to a high-profile inmate to the tabloid.
Richard Trunkfield, an operational support officer at HMP Woodhill near Milton Keynes, allegedly received £3,350 in return for information provided in 2010.
He faces a charge of committing misconduct in public office.
Mark Leech, editor of Converse the national newspaper for prisoners in England and Wales said: “If this prison officer did what it is alleged that he did, selling stories for cash to newspapers about notorious prisoners, then he deserves everything he gets.
“Bizarrely some prison officers have made the ridiculous point that as an Operational Support Grade this officer was ‘not a real prison officer’ – how anyone can be so stupid with just one brain defeats me – corruption is corruption, and semantics do not reduce that.”
A former Surrey Police officer is due to appear in the same court accused of selling details of cases involving John Terry’s mother and Rolling Stone Ronnie Wood to a national newspaper.
Ex-Pc Alan Tierney was allegedly paid £1,750 for passing information relating to the two cases to The Sun.
It is understood that one relates to the arrest of former England defender Terry’s mother Sue Terry and mother-in-law Sue Poole on suspicion of shoplifting in March 2009.
Sources said the second case concerned the arrest of Wood, who was questioned in December 2009 over allegations that he assaulted his young Russian lover Ekaterina Ivanova.
Wood, Sue Terry and Poole all accepted police cautions.
Tierney will appear at London’s Westminster Magistrates’ Court facing two charges of misconduct – the first between March 26 and April 3, 2009, and the second between December 2 and 7, 2009.
EX-PC FACING MISCONDUCT CHARGES
A former police officer is facing criminal charges for allegedly selling details of separate cases involving John Terry’s mother and Rolling Stone Ronnie Wood to The Sun newspaper.
Ex-Pc Alan Tierney, who was with Surrey Police, was allegedly paid £1,750 for giving details of the two cases to the tabloid.
It is understood that one relates to the arrest of former England defender Terry’s mother Sue Terry and mother-in-law Sue Poole on suspicion of shoplifting in March 2009.
Sources said the second case concerned the arrest of Wood, who was questioned in December 2009 over allegations that he had assaulted his young Russian lover Ekaterina Ivanova.
Wood, Sue Terry and Poole all accepted police cautions.
Alison Levitt QC, principal legal adviser to the Director of Public Prosecutions, said: “We have concluded, following a careful review of the evidence, that Alan Tierney, a former police constable with Surrey Police, should be charged with two offences of committing misconduct in public office.
“It is alleged that in 2009 Mr Tierney provided information to The Sun newspaper on two occasions in breach of the terms of his employment with Surrey Police and was paid £1,750.
“The first charge relates to an allegation that Mr Tierney provided details to the newspaper about a shoplifting incident in which he was the arresting officer.
“The second charge relates to an occasion on which Mr Tierney took a statement from a witness to a domestic violence incident. It is alleged that Mr Tierney passed the witness’s name, address and details of the incident to the newspaper.
“Both of these incidents were linked to high-profile people.”
Tierney will appear at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on a date to be fixed.
Ms Levitt said prosecutors also considered information relating to a member of the public and concluded there was insufficient evidence to take further action.
The first charge faced by Tierney alleges that he “between March 26 and April 3, 2009, whilst acting as a public officer, namely a constable of Surrey Police, wilfully and without reasonable excuse or justification misconducted himself”.
The second is the same charge, but between December 2 and 7, 2009.
The charges against Tierney arose as part of Operation Elveden, the investigation into alleged corrupt payments to public officials.
Scotland Yard announced today that a 25-year-old man who was arrested in February last year under the same operation will face no further action.
He was originally held on suspicion of conspiracy to corrupt a public official and money laundering.
PRISON OFFICER BAILED
A prison officer from Kent has been released on bail after being arrested by detectives investigating alleged corrupt payments to public officials, Scotland Yard said.
The 42-year-old man was held at his home in Sittingbourne on suspicion of conspiracy to cause misconduct in a public office.
He was questioned while his house was searched, before he was bailed to a date in March.
The arrest is a result of information passed to police by News Corporation’s Management and Standards Committee.
The arrest was the 58th under Operation Elveden, the inquiry into alleged inappropriate payments.
Of those arrested under Elveden, eight people have or will face court proceedings and two – a retired police officer and a former journalist – have been told they will face no further action.
Last week, the Crown Prosecution Service announced that ex-Metropolitan Police constable Paul Flattley and The Sun’s defence editor, Virginia Wheeler, will face a charge of conspiracy to commit misconduct in public office.
It is alleged that the officer was paid at least £4,000 in cheques and £2,450 in cash in exchange for information.
Allegations have also been made against former News International chief executive Rebekah Brooks, 44, Sun chief reporter John Kay, 69, and Ministry of Defence employee Bettina Jordan-Barber, 39.
It is alleged that Brooks, from Oxfordshire, and Kay, from north-west London, conspired to pay Jordan-Barber, from Shrivenham, near Swindon, around £100,000 for information.
