By Brian Rogers
Copyright 2008 Houston Chronicle
HOUSTON, Texas — Another nonprofit has been the victim of theft, authorities said, and this time two Houston Police Department officers are the ones accused.
A Harris County grand jury on Tuesday indicted officers Tracie Denise Bell and Kirshondra Richardson on charges alleging they billed the Red Cross more than $166,000 last summer to operate a two-week basketball camp for Katrina evacuees that lasted only two days.
They are accused of stealing money given by the National Red Cross and administered by the local Urban League office.
Bell, a 13-year HPD veteran, and Richardson, a probationary officer in her first year with the department, have been relieved of duty and are suspended with pay, said HPD spokesman John Cannon.
The two are charged with theft of more than $100,000, a second-degree felony that carries punishment ranging from probation to 20 years in prison if convicted.
The grand jury handed up the indictments the same day a jury heard opening arguments in the case against the former executive director of another nonprofit, the Sickle Cell Association of the Texas Gulf Coast.
Kenneth Beatty is accused of taking nearly $400,000 from the organization over four years.
He and financial administrative assistant Willie Carlean Cruse were charged with felony theft of more than $200,000 after Beatty resigned his post in 2004.
Cruse has pleaded guilty to theft but has not been sentenced, said Assistant District Attorney Russell Turbeville.
Tommy Lafon, Beatty’s attorney, has said his client has become the scapegoat in the United Way of Greater Houston’s decision to stop funding the association in late 2007.
Accused of false claims
It was unclear Tuesday how accusations against the two HPD officers may affect the nonprofits involved. Houston Area Urban League officials referred questions to the district attorney’s office, and a spokesman with the Houston Red Cross referred calls to the national office.
Assistant District Attorney Terese Buess said Bell had run legitimate basketball camps in the past but accused the police officer of filing false claims about a camp last June.
Buess said Richardson helped fill out the paperwork, making her a party to the crime.
Bell said the camp at Hoffman Middle School lasted two weeks and had 310 attendees, Buess said, but it actually lasted two days and had 10 attendees.
Buess said one of the Urban League’s administrators had a child who was involved in one of Bell’s basketball camps, which is how Bell got involved with the agency, after they began looking for “grass-roots"efforts for enrichment camps after Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.
Because the grand jury continues to investigate, Buess said the information she could give was limited, but a police database obtained by the Chronicle under the Texas Public Information Act indicates at least seven sustained complaints filed against Bell.
Fighting the allegations
Internal investigators cited her for “misconduct,” “loss of city property” and “improper police procedure,” among other sustained complaints.
The database only logs basic details about complaints. Further details were not available late Tuesday.
Jonathan Cox, an attorney for Bell, said he had not seen the evidence against her, but she intends to fight the allegations.
“I’m anxious to see where they got their information from,” Cox said. He said he believes the numbers Buess has will prove to be incorrect.
Richardson’s attorney could not be reached for comment late Tuesday.
Chronicle reporter Matt Stiles contributed to this report.
Copyright 2008 The Houston Chronicle