Missing drugs and guns, heavy criticism, then resignation

To understand the sudden resignation of the state’s public safety director, look to Fallon, a small rural community east of Reno that is home to one of the department’s evidence vaults.

Phil Galeoto is stepping down amid severe criticism within the Nevada Public Safety Department that he mishandled an investigation into the disappearance of large quantities of drugs and guns from the Fallon vault. The vault is used by several agencies under his control, including the Nevada Investigations Division and the Nevada Highway Patrol.

Galeoto could not be reached for comment Wednesday, but three weeks ago he told the Sun that he had asked the Nevada attorney general’s office to look at possible criminal violations in the case following his administrative review of what he characterized as lax record keeping at the Fallon vault.

“I have no reason to believe at this point that anybody has done anything criminal, but as a standard procedure, we’ve asked the attorney general’s office to also take a look at it,” he said.

The attorney general’s office assigned a senior deputy in Las Vegas, John Kelleher, to oversee the criminal investigation. “They wanted the leadership in the criminal division to be looking at it,” said Nicole Moon, a spokeswoman for the attorney general.

Investigators in the Public Safety Department say the attorney general should have been brought into the case sooner.

Galeoto started his internal review in late November. In January, he said he was still unable to conclude whether any evidence was missing. He said he had found a lack of “appropriate accounting” of items in the vault, including drugs and weapons.

A source close to the investigation said this week that large amounts of methamphetamine and other drugs and as many as 90 handguns and rifles are missing from the Fallon vault.

There are records of the items going into the vault, but there are no records of them leaving, and the items are no longer there, the source said."

One of the very first things a street cop learns is how to refine his bullshit-detector. However, what would be considered an outright lie coming from someone not a member of law enforcement, is swallowed hook, line, and sinker when a fellow officer is involved. We are each and every one guilty of the same thing. Believing our friends first. Thats what good friends and co-workers do, but cops take it to the extreme, knowing full well that of all the people licensed to carry guns police are the most likely to commit a crime. Clerical errors should be the LAST thing that comes to mind when evidence vaults turn up empty and its way past time to start holding law enforcement to a higher standard by doubling and trebling the penalties for breech of faith. People break the law because they believe they can get away with it...or... that the crime is worth the time.

Just like those roadside signs that declare it is double-the-fine for speeding when workmen are present, we need similar actions taken when the supposed good guys are robbing us blind.