Pubdate: Tue, 13 Mar 2007 Source: Jacksonville Daily News (NC) Copyright: 2007 Jacksonville Daily News Contact: http://www.jacksonvilledailynews.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/216 Author: Roselee Papandrea MISDEMEANOR LARCENY, OBSTRUCTION RESULTS IN SUSPENDED SENTENCE, FINE The former chief of the North Topsail Beach Police Department pleaded guilty Monday in Onslow County District Court to taking $200 from the town and obstructing a state probe into the case. Daniel Robert Salese, 40, was given a 45-day suspended sentence and was placed on oneyear supervised probation on the misdemeanor charges. He also must surrender his law enforcement certification to the N.C. Criminal Justice Education and Training Standards, perform 48 hours of community service and pay a $250 fine as well as court costs. District Court Judge Leonard W. Thagard, who presided over the proceeding, said he didn't think any sentence he could impose would be worse than the consequences Salese already faced, including "loss of career, embarrassment to him and his family and the embarrassment to law enforcement." Salese, whose salary was $65,000 at the time of his resignation on Friday, was charged Thursday with misdemeanor larceny and obstruction of justice, following an investigation by the State Bureau of Investigation. He was represented by Jacksonville attorney Walter Vatcher. Chief Assistant District Attorney Ernie Lee, who prosecuted the case, told the judge that the District Attorney's office asked the SBI to investigate Salese after North Topsail Beach police Sgt. Lee McKnight reported that $200 in seized drug money was missing from the department safe. After McKnight seized the money during a drug arrest in January 2006, he wrote down the serial numbers and placed the money in a safe within the Police Department. In October 2006, McKnight noticed the money was missing from the safe and reported the incident to the District Attorney's office, Lee said. "The state had a duty to investigate at this point because it was a drug case," Lee said. "We needed to know what happened to the $200." Once SBI agent Mark Francisco started his investigation, $200 reappeared in the safe, Lee said. "But it was not the same money," Lee said, adding that Francisco knew this because McKnight had recorded the serial numbers of the bills seized during the drug bust. "During the initial investigation, Chief Salese said he used the money for the purposes of making change for parking tickets and license plates," Lee said. "It was later discovered that was not in fact true. We contend that the money was used for Chief Salese's own purposes and not for making change." Vatcher told Thagard that Salese was married and has two children who are ages 12 and 16. Salese joined the North Topsail Beach Police Department in 1992 and has served as chief since 1998. "He served without any problems at all until this incident," Vatcher said. Vatcher indicated that McKnight didn't properly label the seized drug money in an envelope. "(Salese) was not aware that money had been used in a drug transaction," Vatcher said. Salese placed the $200 in his desk drawer, Vatcher said. "He said he told Sgt. McKnight that he had it in his drawer," Vatcher said. Salese agreed to plead guilty to the two misdemeanor charges with the condition that the state not proceed with any additional charges that might arise out of the investigation of the stolen $200, Lee said. Before he was sentenced, Salese addressed the judge. His wife, Rhonda, was behind him in the courtroom. "I would like to apologize to the court, to the district attorney and to my family for this unfortunate incident," Salese said. "It was not intentional on my part. ... I want to put it behind me and go on with my life for my kids' and wife's sake." Salese, who was released on $3,000 unsecured bond after his arrest Thursday, resigned Friday. The resignation was announced following an emergency closed meeting of the North Topsail Beach Board of Aldermen. Casey Fillinger was named interim chief and will lead the 12-officer department while the town looks to replace Salese, who was the longest-serving police chief in the town's history. - --- MAP posted-by: Beth Wehrman