Elkhart County deputies allegedly worked a combined 92 hours in ghost employment scheme
Nov. 3—GOSHEN — An Elkhart County Sheriff's deputy and one former deputy recently arrested on charges of ghost employment allegedly worked a combined 92 hours at their security job while still clocked-in at the sheriff's department.
William Fackelman, Bristol, and Donald McQuarie, Goshen, were arrested last week on one count each of ghost employment, a Level 6 felony.
According to the website of the Indiana Office of Inspector General, the state rule regarding ghost employees reads as follows: "A state officer, employee or special state appointee shall not engage in, or direct others to engage in, work other than the performance of official duties during working hours, except as permitted by general written agency, departmental or institutional policy or regulation."
Per the probable cause affidavits for the two men, the issues with their work hours first came under suspicion back in early March when Fackelman failed to respond to a call for service involving a vehicle crash when he was scheduled to be on-call.
Fackelman's supervisor at the time reportedly checked Fackelman's camera's GPS live map function and saw that he was mapping at his off-duty Lake City Bank security job while he was supposed to be responding to emergency calls for the sheriff's office, according to the affidavit.
That sparked an internal investigation of Fackelman's work history going back to November 2021, which ultimately looped in McQuarie, as each man had similar schedules and duties, the affidavit reads.
According to a news release issued Friday by the sheriff's office, the information from the internal investigation was significant enough for the office to request that the Indiana State Police investigate. That investigation was in turn completed and submitted to the Elkhart County Prosecutor, the release noted.
In the end, it was reportedly discovered that both men had been working security at Lake City Bank at times that overlapped with their sheriff's department shifts, for a combined total of 92.57 hours.
According to his affidavit, Fackelman allegedly worked a total of 67.25 hours at the bank while still clocked-in at the sheriff's office.
"The records reveal that Fackelman worked approximately 20.25 hours at Lake City Bank from Nov. 2, 2021, to the end of the year while on-duty at the sheriff's office," the affidavit notes. "The records also reveal the time overlap for 2022 from the beginning of the year until March 11, 2022, showed he worked approximately 47 hours at Lake City Bank when he was on-duty at the sheriff's office. He totaled 67.25 hours of overlapping time from Nov. 2, 2021, to March 11, 2022."
As for McQuarie, his probable cause affidavit notes that he allegedly worked a total of 25.32 hours at the bank while still clocked-in at the sheriff's office.
"Records reveal that McQuarie worked approximately 12.66 hours at Lake City Bank from Nov. 9, 2021, to the end of the year while on-duty at the sheriff's office," his affidavit notes. "The records also reveal the time overlap for 2022 from the beginning of the year until March 8, 2022, showed he worked approximately 12.66 hours at Lake City Bank when he was on-duty at the sheriff's office, for a total of approximately 25.32 hours from Nov. 9, 2021, to March 8, 2022."
McQuarie has since retired from the sheriff's office and Fackelman remains on paid suspension, according to the Friday news release. Both men have been booked and released from the Elkhart County Correctional Facility.
According to their online court records, McQuarie is currently scheduled to appear for his initial hearing in Elkhart County Superior Court 6 on Nov. 18, while Fackelman is scheduled to appear for his initial hearing in Elkhart County Superior Court 6 on Dec. 2.
