The guild representing Lakewood police officers is missing a “significant amount” of money, and federal investigators are looking into whether a fired officer, already accused of taking donations meant for the families of four slain colleagues, is responsible.
Lakewood Police Independent Guild President Eric Bell said Tuesday the guild has been cooperating with federal investigators in their probe of Skeeter T. Manos. At the same time, they’re doing their own investigation of its accounts.
“We are missing a significant amount of money,” said Bell, who declined to say how much was missing and how much remained. “We are going to have to find our best course of action.”
Manos, 34, was charged in federal court last week with 10 counts of wire fraud. Prosecutors allege he took more than $150,000 in charitable donations meant for the families of four officers killed in 2009 and deposited them into a secret bank account he’d set up without anyone else’s knowledge.
Manos was treasurer of the guild at the time. Prosecutors allege he diverted donations into the secret account from January 2010 to February 2011 and then used the money to gamble and buy merchandise.
Manos pleaded not guilty to the allegations. He was fired Friday from his job as a police officer.
Federal investigators also are looking at whether Manos took money from the 2010 legislative campaign of a fellow officer, a source close to the investigation said Tuesday. A spokeswoman for the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Seattle declined to comment.
Officer Brian Wurts, then president of the Lakewood police guild, ran for the state House seat held by Rep. Tami Green in 2010. He finished third in the primary and didn’t advance to the general election. Green won re-election in the general election.
Wurts has been entangled in the Manos embezzlement investigation because his signature appeared on the secret account Manos set up. Court records suggest the signature is not genuine.
Wurts resigned as president of the guild Friday and remains on paid, administrative leave. He couldn’t be reached Tuesday.
Manos had been treasurer of the guild from 2006 until last week. The executive board relieved him of his duties after his arrest, Bell said. The board also locked Manos out of all the guild’s financial accounts.
The guild represents more than 90 police officers, detectives, investigators and sergeants. Each pays about $70 a month in dues to the guild, Bell said. The money – about $75,600 a year – is used for attorneys fees, contract negotiations and arbitration issues.
Manos held the books for the guild account. Other members had requested independent reviews of the guild’s accounts in years past but the requests were thwarted by Wurts and Manos, Bell said.
As the guild figures out what happened with its finances and the scope of the problem, Bell said the union will make changes to ensure there is more oversight of the account in the future.
“It’s not going to be limited to one or two people,” Bell said. “We are going to do everything we can to make sure something like this doesn’t happen again.”
Stacey Mulick: 253-597-8268
stacey.mulick@thenewstribune.com
blog.thenewstribune.com/crime
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