Friday, November 15, 2013

11152013 - Officer Dale Malesh - Sentenced - CSC - Warren PD

Also see:

Officer Dale Malesh - CSC - Warren PD [retired]
http://michiganoidv.blogspot.com/2013/04/officer-dale-malesh-warren-pd-retired.html

Officer Dale Malesh preliminary hearing [May 2013]
http://michiganoidv.blogspot.com/2013/05/officer-dale-malesh-preliminary-exam.html

 
In October 2013, Officer Dale Malesh pled no-contest to 14 counts of CSC. On November 15, 2013, Malesh was sentenced to 4 years and 9 months to 15 years in prison.









Ex-Warren police officer pleads no contest to having sex with student
4:25 PM, October 8, 2013
Detroit Free Press
http://www.freep.com/article/20131008/NEWS04/310080116/

A retired Warren police officer accused of having a sexual relationship with a 16-year-old student who attended the school where he was a resource officer pleaded no contest today in Macomb County Circuit Court.

Dale Malesh, 62, pleaded no contest to 14 counts of third-degree criminal sexual conduct, a 15-year felony, on charges out of Warren and Roseville. He is to be sentenced Nov. 15 before Judge Mary Chrzanowski.

His attorney, Steve Kaplan, said Malesh had a "stellar record as a police officer" in Warren and with Sturgis police and was a friend of the family of the victim. Kaplan said the girl was bullied in eighth grade and Malesh intervened and squashed the bullying.

Kaplan said no sex acts were coerced. He said Malesh pleaded no contest "in case (the girl) or her family decided to sue years from now."

The charges involve the one student, with the sexual affair going on between December and March.

The incidents occurred at Malesh’s home in Warren and at Dooley Park in Roseville, authorities said.

Malesh was charged in April with having sexual relations with the Warren girl, who was a junior at Warren Woods-Tower High School in Warren, where Malesh was a school resource officer. He was charged in June with the crimes in Roseville.

Malesh retired from Warren police in January 2011 after 19 years with the department. He was in law enforcement for about 30 years, Warren Police Commissioner Jere Green said after Malesh’s arrest.

After Malesh retired, the school district kept him as a contract employee for the rest of that school year and through the end of the 2012 school year, Green said.

Previously, Green said Warren police received a complaint March 21 about a sexual relationship between the girl and Malesh. The girl came to police with her mother.

Investigators interviewed students and staff at the school in addition to gathering other information, such as text messages and Facebook information, Green said. Police searched Malesh’s house. Green didn’t say how long the relationship was going on, but said the acts did not occur at school.








Monday, October 21, 2013

10212013 - Officer Michael Calabrese - LEIN misuse - Taylor PD

On May 30, 2014, Taylor City Police Officer Michael Calabrese was convicted of misusing the LEIN. 
In October 2013, Officer Calabrese had been charged with 11 counts of LEIN misuse. One of those charges stemmed from Calabrese misusing the system to check on his former girlfriend. 














Former Taylor officer sentenced to one year probation, fines for misusing computer system
Published: Friday, June 20, 2014
David Komer
The News-Herald
http://www.thenewsherald.com/articles/2014/06/20/news/doc53a47d7d308f5341022150.txt

DETROIT — A former Taylor police officer was sentenced  Friday in Wayne County Circuit Court to one year probation and $1,600 in fines for three misdemeanor counts of misusing the statewide Law Enforcement Information Network computer system.

Michael Calabrese, 42, can have his probation reduced to six months by paying all of his fines on time. His probation will be done via monthly telephone calls, and during that time he is not allowed to move out of his current residence.

He also must find and maintain employment and engage in an alternative program as dictated by a field agent.
After his jury trial concluded May 30, the Taylor Police Department fired the 13-year officer on June 10. As part of his conviction, Calabrese had his access to LEIN taken away and his law enforcement career is over.

Calabrese, a military combat veteran, was convicted by a jury on three counts of misusing LEIN.  
Calabrese emphatically declared his innocence to Judge Daniel Hathaway.

“I am not guilty of every charge that was presented before this court,” he said. “I served the country and the community with honor, integrity and service, and the things that are put before you today are false. And, I am innocent.”

Hathaway said the jury “came to a different conclusion and that the court is “duty bound to follow the jury.” He said the jury believed there were some violations of the law.

Before Calabrese was sentenced, defense attorney Byron Pitts asked Hathaway to consider that, as a combat veteran and a police officer, the former officer had put his life on the line for more than 20 years and he wished for him to go on about his life. 

Police Chief Mary Sclabassi spoke at the hearing, despite the efforts of Pitts to prevent it. Pitts said that since Sclabassi was not a victim in the matter, she was not entitled to speak.

Michael Woodyard, assistant Wayne County prosecutor, said  the Taylor Police Department was “clearly a victim of these crimes” because Calabrese used his authority with the department to commit them.
Hathaway then allowed Sclabassi to speak on behalf of the  department.

Sclabassi started her statement by apologizing to the women involved in the incidents and to the public on behalf of the department. She said Taylor is committed to an “open, systematic examination of the facts” and that the Michigan State Police conducted its investigation with integrity.

“The evidence has spoken and the jury has spoken,” she said, adding that she takes misconduct and criminal behavior by an officer seriously. “For months, I have listened to the recriminations of (Calabrese) and his attorney about paranoid conspiracy theories and witch hunts. I stand here confidently and tell you that those defenses are utterly false. This has been about holding a police officer accountable to his oath and the law.

“I strongly believe that Mr. Calabrese should no longer serve as a law enforcement officer. However, I would ask you to show leniency in your sentencing. It is my understanding that Mr. Calabrese is gainfully employed elsewhere and does have a young son to raise.”

















Internal affairs investigation details actions of former Taylor officer
Published: Friday, June 20, 2014
By David Komer
The News-Herald
http://www.thenewsherald.com/articles/2014/06/20/news/doc53a4823923274250542364.txt


TAYLOR — An internal affairs investigation of a former police officer details multiple instances of him using a law enforcement computer network to harass women.

Michael Calabrese, 42, a 13-year veteran of the Taylor Police Department, was fired June 10 at the conclusion of the investigation.

He had been convicted May 30 by a Wayne County Circuit Court jury of three of 11 counts of misuse of the Law Enforcement Information Network. On Friday, he was sentenced to one year probation and $1,600 in fines. 

Officers of the law are prohibited from using the LEIN for personal gain. Calabrese has maintained that he is innocent. His attorney, Bryon Pitts, has said Calabrese never benefited financially.

The internal affairs report
The News-Herald Newspapers received a copy of the internal affairs report after filing a state Freedom of Information Act request. The report documents alleged examples of Calabrese using his computer for personal reasons.

Names of people in the report were redacted, as were  Calbrese’s answers to the investigation’s questioning.

Woman 1
No names were provided in the report, but, in the first instance, a friend of “Woman 1” approached Lt. Michael Lividini to tell him that Calabrese was stalking her. 

In an interview with police, Woman 1 told Lividini that when she first met Calabrese in September or October 2011, he  followed her home and said he had run her license plate through LEIN.

She told police that after arriving home, Calabrese pulled in front of her driveway in a marked squad car and asked her out.

“I know this is not right and I am not supposed to do this, but I thought you were beautiful and wanted to exchange numbers to take you out on a date,” Calabrese said, according to the report. He also told her he had run her plate to get her address.

She agreed to go out with him once, to a Detroit Tigers game in 2011. After that, she told police, Calabrese sent her multiple text messages asking her out. She refused and told him to stop sending her texts, the report said.

Woman 1 said she became concerned when she heard that Calabrese was doing the same thing to other women.

On Feb. 13, Lividini was told by a friend of the woman that Calabrese continued to pull her over and harass her.

In a LEIN audit by Elizabeth Canfield of the Michigan State Police, Calabrese ran four queries on “Woman 1” — at 11:18 p.m.,  11:19 p.m. and 11:20 p.m. Sept. 24, 2011; and at 12:05 a.m. Sept. 25.

The report said  Woman 1 told state police Detective Joseph White, who ran the criminal investigation, that she thought it was wrong for an officer to use LEIN “just to ask girls out on dates.”

Woman 2
Calabrese used LEIN to look up “Woman 2” seven times from Sept. 2, 2010, to April 23, 2012, according to the investigation.

Woman 2 told White she had a personal relationship with Calabrese and they met in 2008 when he responded to a call at her house (the reason was redacted).

Woman 2 told Lividini that Calabrese met her when he was mentoring her younger brother, leading to the two dating on and off for two years in 2009 and 2010.

Calabrese and Woman 2 began a relationship while he was going through a divorce until they broke up in summer 2011 because, she said, he was controlling and possessive.

After the breakup, she told investigators he still texted her to tell her how she had “ruined his life” and that he continued to drive past her house in his personal vehicle.

The last time Calabrese sent a text to Woman 2 was in April 2013, when he said he was going to “tell everyone everything” about how she was a “home wrecker” unless she returned his calls, the report said. 

She warned him that she would call police if he continued texting her.

She added that she believes he “lies and is unstable.”

When the two were dating, there was a marked age difference; she was 18 and he was in his late 30s.

The relationship was not known to Woman 2’s parents, who became friends with Calabrese and his wife and went to church together and had dinner at each other’s houses, her father said in the report.

One night, Woman 2’s father said Calabrese called him crying, confessing his affair with the man’s daughter and asked for forgiveness. He then told the father the relationship was over.

Calabrese continued to date “Woman 2” despite the father asking three or four times that he stop, explaining the age difference, marital status and point in the lives of the  two, “but it did not make a difference,” the report says.

During that time, Woman 2’s mother found Calabrese hiding in the family’s basement closet, and he told her that because her daughter was 18 “there was nothing they could do about their relationship.”

On March 17, a police officer (name redacted) said Calabrese ran Woman 2’s name on the LEIN “because he could not stop thinking about her.”

Woman 2 said she never asked Calabrese to run her personal information in the computer and said she never came into contact with him in a professional circumstance when he would have needed to access the LEIN about her.

Woman 3
White investigated claims that Calabrese had a photo of  “Woman 3,”  an employee at an area restaurant, on his mobile data terminal, or patrol car computer.

At 3:43 a.m. Jan. 6, Calabrese ran her LEIN  information.

Woman 3 knew Calabrese from the restaurant, as well as from when he worked the security detail at Truman High School basketball games.

On Jan. 6, Woman 3 and her fiance encountered Calabrese when a woman her parents were helping fell ill and was transported to the hospital.

She never had a relationship with him other than as friends on Facebook.

Woman 4
“Woman 4” works at a  bar and had her LEIN information run at 10:26 p.m. June 26.

She told investigators she asked him to do it, and that Calabrese had a crush on her and had asked her out on dates in the past.

The report said she went to Calabrese’s house once to hang out with him, usually just flirting and “probably gave him the wrong idea,” but liked having him come to the bar.

One night while leaving a bar she encountered Calabrese.

Woman 4 said she was too drunk to drive and Calabrese, who was on duty, offered to drive her car home for her. She agreed, while a second officer followed in a squad car.

She asked him to look up her record with LEIN because she was curious what was on her record.

Woman 5
“Woman 5” had her information run on LEIN at 3:40 a.m. July 24.

She said she knew Calabrese through a friend and said  Calabrese had hinted about asking her out.

She said Calabrese has never handled an incident involving her and that she never asked him to run her LEIN information.

Woman 5 never dated Calabrese, who would ask her what she thought of dating older men. She told him that she would “never date someone her father’s age.”

Woman 6
“Woman 6” had her name run by Calabrese on LEIN twice, at 4:41 a.m. and 4:42 a.m. May 29, 2011, and her vehicle, license and name were run at 10:01 p.m. July 14.

Woman 6 met Calabrese in 2011 when he came into the shop she worked to buy a gift for a nurse he had just met and wanted to ask on a date. He told Woman 6 that if it did not work out, he would be back to ask her out.

He returned an hour later saying that the nurse was married and she accepted his date offer “to get him to leave,” the report said.

While on a date on his boat at Belleville Lake, he told her she had been involved in a “fender bender” and said he had to know who he was taking out on a date.

Woman 6 told investigators she ended the relationship.

Woman 7
“Woman 7” is a former Taylor police intern whose LEIN  information was looked up by Calabrese at 7:21 p.m. Nov. 30, 2012.

Woman 7 asked Calabrese to look up her driving record after she had received a speeding ticket in Livonia one day earlier.

She is a Ferris State University law enforcement graduate who had become friends with Calabrese and had gone out with him socially in a platonic nature, the report said.

She learned there was nothing on her record at that time and told investigators that she is still friends with Calabrese and that he told her about the investigation and to be honest and answer any questions regarding it.

Woman 8
“Woman 8” works at a local restaurant and had her LEIN information looked up at 10:31 p.m. Sept. 1, 2011.

A dispatch log said Calabrese was dispatched to a suicide attempt at 10:22 p.m. Sept. 1, 2011, and arrived at the scene at 10:33 p.m. The scene was cleared by 10:58 p.m.

Woman 8 said she knew Calabrese from working at the restaurant and that he used to ask her out on dates despite knowing she was engaged.

She felt Calabrese was infatuated with her until a new woman  began working and caught his eye. “He moved on to her,” Woman 8 told investigators, adding that she never felt threatened by him.

She said she never asked for her information to be run by Calabrese on LEIN.
















Calabrese Internal Affairs Report
June 12, 2014
Taylor Police Department
































Taylor officer convicted of computer misuse to find out about future with department soon
Published: Saturday, June 07, 2014
By David Komer
The News-Herald

TAYLOR — An officer recently found to have misused the statewide law enforcement computer network will learn about  his future with the Police Department by next week.

On May 30, Michael Calabrese, 42, was convicted in Wayne County Circuit Court of three counts of  misusing the Law Enforcement Information Network.

He is to be sentenced June 20 by Judge Daniel Hathaway.

Police Chief Mary Sclabassi said the department’s internal affairs investigation waited until the trial’s conclusion in accordance with the officers’ union contract. A decision regarding Calabrese, who is on unpaid suspension, will be ready for next week.

The 13-year veteran was originally accused of 11 counts of LEIN misuse and pleaded not guilty.

At a preliminary examination of the evidence against him in 24th District Court in December, two witnesses testified that Calabrese looked up their driving records and license information for personal reasons unrelated to any cases.

LEIN is a computerized criminal information filing system of numerous state databases that includes criminal histories, Michigan Secretary of State records, driving records and information that would appear on a driver’s license.

Searches can be conducted using a license plate, license number or a name.




















Taylor police officer convicted of misusing LEIN system
Published: Sunday, June 01, 2014
By Dave Herndon
The News-Herald
http://www.thenewsherald.com/articles/2014/06/01/news/doc5388b59a4d583597671829.txt



DETROIT — A Taylor police officer was convicted in Wayne County Circuit Court on Friday afternoon of three counts of misuse of a statewide law enforcement computer network.

Michael Calabrese is to be sentenced June 20 by Judge Daniel Hathaway.

Calabrese was accused of 11 counts of misusing the Law Enforcement Information Network. He maintained his innocence throughout and a plea of not guilty was entered on his behalf.

The 13-year veteran of the department has been suspended without pay. It is unknown at this time what his future with the department will be.

At a preliminary examination of the evidence against him in 24th District Court in December, two witnesses testified that Calabrese looked up their driving records and license information for personal reasons unrelated to any cases.

LEIN is a computerized criminal information filing system of numerous state databases that includes criminal histories, Michigan Secretary of State records, driving records and information that would appear on a driver’s license. Searches can be conducted using a license plate, license number or a name. 











Taylor officer charged with computer misuse is headed to trial
Published: Wednesday, March 12, 2014
By David Komer
The News-Herald
http://www.thenewsherald.com/articles/2014/03/12/news/doc5320a3838cb29640263255.txt



DETROIT — A Taylor police officer charged with misuse of a statewide law enforcement computer network is headed to trial.

Michael Calabrese, 42, has a jury trial scheduled to begin April 7 before Judge Daniel Hathaway in Wayne County Circuit Court.

Calabrese, accused of 11 counts of misusing the Law Enforcement Information Network, has maintained his innocence throughout and had a not guilty plea entered.

Calabrese’s final conference was held Feb. 28, where a plea bargain could have been chosen. 
The 13-year veteran of the department has been suspended without pay.

At a preliminary examination of the evidence against him, held in 24th District Court in December, two witnesses came forward to testify that Calabrese looked up their driving records and license information for personal reasons unrelated to any cases.

Calabrese is accused of:
•Five counts of using LEIN information for unauthorized disclosure.
•Two counts of motor vehicle code false certification.
•Two counts of using a computer to commit a crime.
•Two counts of common law offenses, or abuse of office.

LEIN is a computerized criminal information filing system of numerous state databases that include criminal histories, Michigan Secretary of State records, driving records and information that would appear on a driver’s license. Searches can be conducted using a license plate, license number or a name.










Taylor officer charged with computer crime due back in court
Published: Tuesday, February 25, 2014
By David Komer
The News-Herald


DETROIT — A Taylor police officer is expected back in Wayne County Circuit Court on Friday to face charges that he misused a statewide computer network.

Michael Calabrese, 42, is accused of 11 counts of misusing the Law Enforcement Information Network for personal use.

The 13-year veteran of the department has been suspended without pay.

He has entered a plea of not guilty and will be in court at 9 a.m. for a final conference before Judge Daniel Hathaway. 
If a plea bargain is not chosen by Calabrese at the conference, a jury trial date has been set for 9 a.m. April 7.

His last hearing had been scheduled for Jan. 3 but the case has had a change of judges. It originally was heard by Judge Deborah Thomas.

Calabrese is accused of:
•Five counts of using LEIN information for unauthorized disclosure.
•Two counts of motor vehicle code false certification.
•Two counts of using a computer to commit a crime. 
•Two counts of common law offenses, or abuse of office.

LEIN is a computerized criminal information filing system of numerous state databases that include criminal histories, Michigan Secretary of State records, driving records and information that would appear on a driver’s license. Searches can be conducted using a license plate, license number or a name.










DETROIT: Taylor officer arraigned for misuse of computer network
Published: Monday, December 16, 2013
By David Komer
The News Herald



DETROIT — Taylor police officer Michael Calabrese was arraigned in Wayne County Circuit Court Monday morning.

Calabrese, 42, is accused of 11 counts of misusing the Law Enforcement Information Network for personal use.

His lawyer entered a not guilty plea before Judge Deborah Thomas, while Calabrese stood mute.

The next hearing for Calabrese is scheduled for 9 a.m. Jan. 3. 

Calabrese is accused of:

• Five counts of using LEIN information for unauthorized disclosure.

• Two counts of motor vehicle code false certification.

• Two counts of using a computer to commit a crime.

• Two counts of common law offenses, or abuse of office.

A 13-year veteran of the department, Calabrese is currently on a unpaid suspension. 
LEIN is a computerized criminal information filing system of numerous state databases that include criminal histories, Michigan Secretary of State records, driving records and information that would appear on a driver’s license. Searches can be conducted using a license plate, license number or a name.

According to the state police website, criminal penalties for the misuse of LEIN in its Policy Council Act, MCL 28.214, specifically say:

“For a first offense, guilty of a misdemeanor punishable by imprisonment for not more than 90 days or a fine of not more than $500, or both. For a second or subsequent offense, guilty of a felony punishable by imprisonment for not more than four years or a fine of not more than $2,000, or both.”












ALLEN PARK: Taylor officer charged with misusing computer system bound over for trial
Published: Monday, December 02, 2013
By David Komer
The News Herald










ALLEN PARK — A Taylor police officer was bound over for trial at Wayne County Circuit Court to face 11 charges related to his alleged misuse of a department computer.

A former girlfriend of officer Michael Calabrese, who’s been with the department for 13 years, testified Monday in 24th District Court that he told her he used the police computer to access the Law Enforcement Information Network to review her background because “he wanted to know who he was taking on a date.”

Calabrese, who was ordered by Judge Richard Page to stand trial for all 11 charges, will head downtown for trial at 9 a.m. Dec. 16. He is accused of:

• Five counts of using LEIN information for unauthorized disclosure; 
• Two counts of motor vehicle code false certification;

• Two counts of using a computer to commit a crime; and

• Two counts of common law offenses, or abuse of office.

Four witnesses testified Monday including ex-girlfriend Lacey Mckiney, who said she dated Calabrese for three months in 2011.

“He mentioned that I’d had a fender-bender in Romulus,” Mckiney said. “He said he checked up on me and ran me. I asked him why and he said he ‘wanted to know who he was taking on a date.’”

Calabrese’s case was heard in Allen Park, and not the city in which he works, to ensure objectivity. 

LEIN is a computerized criminal information filing system that accesses numerous state databases including criminal history, secretary of state records, driving record and information that would appear on a driver’s license. Searches can be conducted using a license plate, license number or a name.

Mckiney said she had never had a ticket or been in an accident previous to the Romulus traffic crash.

She said that she met Calabrese after he sent flowers to a fellow employee at her place of work. Mckiney said Calabrese told her he would be back if it didn’t work out with the co-worker, and later kept asking her out.

Defense attorney Bryon Pitts asked Mckiney if she asked Calabrese to look up information about her traffic accident.

“No,” she said. “I’m 100 percent sure.”

Pitts argued that since Mckiney said she could not remember every single conversation she had with Calabrese from more than a year and a half ago, her recollection could be wrong.

In another line of questioning by Pitts, McKiney also said she was never told by investigators to not speak to anyone other than the Michigan State Police about the case.

Pitts’ questioning stem from when a previous witness, former police department intern Kirby Brackel, said she was told by Michigan State Police investigators that if anyone tried to speak to her about the case, she should report it.

Pitts’ obstruction argument was that the Michigan State Police investigator was not allowed to give that instruction.

“Ms. Brackel and any other witness can speak to any person they choose,” Pitts said. “Just as (Michigan State Police) can speak to any witness I might call without having to go through me. This is obstruction and I will be talking to (Wayne County Prosecutor) Kym Worthy’s office.” 

“This is outrageous,” said Robert Miller, assistant Wayne County prosecutor.

Page interrupted the budding argument, but Miller did say that there was a no-contact rule only regarding Calabrese, which was ongoing at the time of his arraignment.

“I am not going to admonish the (Michigan State Police) officer here, I don’t know exactly what took place,” Page said.

During testimony, Brackel, who said the process of being questioned at her house by investigators was “intimidating,” said she came to know Calabrese when she interned with the department while a student at Ferris State University.

Brackel said she was pulled over for speeding in Livonia in November 2012. She said she called Calabrese to check her driving record. After a short period of time, she said Calabrese called to tell her “that I had nothing on my driving record.”

Brackel testified that she paid the ticket.

Also testifying was Taylor Police Lt. Michael Lividini, who handles internal affairs within the department, and Elizabeth Canfield, a LEIN policy analyst who investigates misuse of the computer network.

“Could you use LEIN to look up the driving record of a personal friend?” Miller asked.

“Not for personal use,” Canfield said.

Canfield said she was asked to conduct searches on the LEIN archive on an operator name and certain specific individual names. 
Records were presented by Canfield showing findings of searches on Brackel and Mckiney in the database by an operator logged in as Calabrese.

Pitts said that it was possible another officer performed the searches under Calabrese’s account.

“You don’t know who made the reports, just that someone was using the account,” Pitts said to Canfield, who agreed.

He also questioned the depth of the searches, saying the operator of the search may not have intended to get anything more than the driving records for the two women — although, in both instances, the searches were comprehensive.

Miller countered by asking Canfield that if someone was investigating just a driver’s record, they could limit the query, to which Canfield said yes.

Pitts then asked her if she knew whether the Taylor LEIN system allowed the user the ability to limit such a search.

“No,” she said, after which Pitts said he had nothing further.

According to the Michigan State Police website, criminal penalties for the misuse of LEIN in its Policy Council Act, MCL 28.214, specifically states:

“For a first offense, guilty of a misdemeanor punishable by imprisonment for not more than 90 days or a fine of not more than $500, or both. For a second or subsequent offense, guilty of a felony punishable by imprisonment for not more than 4 years or a fine of not more than $2,000, or both.”












ALLEN PARK: Hearing rescheduled again for officer accused of misusing computer system
Published: Sunday, November 10, 2013
By David Komer
The News Herald

ALLEN PARK — A preliminary examination has been postponed again for an officer charged with 11 counts of misusing the Police Department’s Law Enforcement Information Network.

Officer Michael Calabrese had been scheduled to appear before 24th District Judge Richard Page on Wednesday, but his exam has been adjourned until Dec. 2.

A court clerk said Calabrese notified the court of a change of attorney Monday afternoon. Court was not in session Tuesday due to Election Day, so the case was to have been heard Wednesday.

The Dec. 2 date is tentative and was requested by Calabrese, the clerk said. 
The 13-year department veteran is accused of:

•Five counts of using LEIN information for unauthorized disclosure.

•Two counts of motor vehicle code false certification.

•Two counts of using a computer to commit a crime.

•Two counts of common law offenses.

The first hearing had been scheduled for Oct. 21 but was delayed because the assistant Wayne County prosecutor handling the case requested more time because of new evidence and that a witness could not attend the hearing. 
Taylor Police Chief Mary Sclabassi said her department received a complaint about Calabrese in January, and she turned it over to Michigan State Police to investigate.

She referred any further questions about the case to state police.

Calabrese’s case was heard in Allen Park, and not the city in which he works.

LEIN is a computerized criminal information filing system for the state that organizes and makes information available to all criminal justice agencies, the Michigan State Police website says.

According to the website, criminal penalties for the misuse of LEIN in its Policy Council Act, MCL 28.214, specifically says:

“For a first offense, guilty of a misdemeanor punishable by imprisonment for not more than 90 days or a fine of not more than $500, or both. For a second or subsequent offense, guilty of a felony punishable by imprisonment for not more than four years or a fine of not more than $2,000, or both.”













Cop charged with multiple counts of information misuse
The Times-Herald Newspapers
October 28, 2013
By JAMES MITCHELL
Sunday Times Newspapers
TAYLOR — A police officer may be facing time in jail after being charged with multiple counts of misusing law enforcement information systems and falsifying vehicle documents.

According to 24th District Court and Wayne County Circuit Court records, Michael Calabrese, 42, was charged with 11 non-capital felonies including false certification of motor vehicle documents, using a computer to commit a crime, and several counts of unauthorized disclosure of data from the Law Enforcement Information Network.

Court records indicate that a warrant had been requested in September at Taylor’s 23rd District Court; a preliminary exam on Monday was held before 24th District Court Judge Richard Page, reportedly to provide a neutral setting.

Police Chief Mary Sclabassi said Calabrese — a 12-year department veteran — has been suspended pending the outcome of the criminal case. His pay was suspended following the arraignment of charges. 

The investigation was reportedly handled by the Michigan State Police; Sclabassi received a complaint regarding Calabrese and referred the matter to state investigators.

If convicted Calabrese could face up to 90 days in jail for a first misdemeanor offense, or up to four years in prison for felony convictions.

Last week’s preliminary exam was rescheduled for Nov. 6.












ALLEN PARK: Hearing for Taylor officer charged with computer system misuse adjourned to November
Published: Monday, October 21, 2013
By David Komer
The News Herald

ALLEN PARK — A preliminary exam for a Taylor police officer charged with 11 counts of allegedly misusing the department’s Law Enforcement Information Network was postponed until 9 a.m. Nov. 6.

Officer Michael Calabrese appeared before 24th District Court Judge Richard Page Monday morning.

The 13-year department veteran is accused of:

• Five counts of using LEIN information for unauthorized disclosure;
Two counts of motor vehicle code false certification;

• Two counts of using a computer to commit a crime; and

• Two counts of common law offenses.

Michael Woodyard, assistant Wayne County prosecutor, requested the case be adjourned due to a witness who could not attend Monday’s hearing and because of new evidence.

“There was some discovery materials our office came into possession of late Friday,” Woodyard said. “In fact, I have not given it to (the defense, which) I will do today.”

Woodyard and Calabrese’s defense lawyers had an off-the-record discussion with Page in his chambers prior to the hearing, where the prosecution asked whether Page preferred to hear the case in its entirety or piecemeal. 

“I know my preference is to do it in its entirety and it sounds like (the defense’s) is also,” Woodyard said.

Page said that if both sides wanted to “do it all” at one time, that it would be fine.

Taylor Police Chief Mary Sclabassi said that in January her department received a complaint about Calabrese, which she turned over to the Michigan State Police to investigate. She referred any further questions about the case, to state police.

Calabrese’s case was heard in Allen Park, and not the city in which he works, to ensure objectivity.

LEIN is a computerized criminal information filing system for the state, which organizes and makes information available to all criminal justice agencies, the Michigan State Police website said.

According to the website, criminal penalties for the misuse of LEIN in its Policy Council Act, MCL 28.214, specifically states:

“For a first offense, guilty of a misdemeanor punishable by imprisonment for not more than 90 days or a fine of not more than $500, or both. For a second or subsequent offense, guilty of a felony punishable by imprisonment for not more than 4 years or a fine of not more than $2,000, or both.”