Apparently, theft was more widespread at Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 8 than some had thought. On May 24, Adam Conheeny, former treasurer of the Newport-based union, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court for the District of Rhode Island to fraudulently converting more than $30,000 in local funds to his own use. The case is a consequence of the probe of former Lodge 8 president Christopher Hayes, who was sentenced last July in federal court for stealing more than $70,000 from the union. The Conheeny case, like that of Hayes, follows an investigation by the U.S. Labor Department’s Office of Labor-Management Standards and Office of Inspector General, and the Rhode Island State Police.
According to prosecutors, Conheeny, now 46, a resident of Portsmouth, R.I., and a former Newport police officer, during August 2009-December 2014 used his union debit card to cover personal expenses, wrote union checks payable to himself, and made unauthorized cash withdrawals from the union bank account. The grand total of thefts was $31,413. “As a police officer, Adam Conheeny’s conduct is particularly egregious because he violated the very laws he took an oath to uphold,” said Michael Mikulka, Special Agent-in-Charge, New York Region, Department of Labor, Office of Inspector General. “We will continue to work with our federal and state law enforcement partners to safeguard union funds and protect the financial interests of union members.”