12.02.19
Wolverhampton council worker arrested and sacked after allegedly stealing electronics from authority and selling them on eBay
A Wolverhampton Council worker has been dismissed after allegedly stealing electronic devices such as phones and laptops from the authority, and has also been arrested by West Midlands Police.
The 31-year-old supervisor in Wolverhampton’s ICT department was sacked for allegedly stealing brand new electrical equipment such as laptops, tablets, and mobile phones and selling them on eBay under a fake name, as reported in the Express & Star.
The council worker had worked at the authority in the IT department for more than nine years, but was arrested on 2 February and has since been released on bail until next month.
Wolverhampton Council confirmed it had dismissed one of its employees following a disciplinary operation investigation, but a spokesman said: “We are unable to provide any further comment due to an ongoing police investigation.”
Staff at the council were emailed about their colleague’s dismissal after the alleged thefts came to light.
West Midlands Police said a 31-year old man had been arrested on suspicion of theft at Wolverhampton’s Civic Centre – where the council’s offices are based.
It said that the employee had been released on bail and that a file was with the Crown Prosecution Service for consideration on whether he should be formally charged with theft.
Spokeswoman Sharn Braich said: “A 31-year-old man who was arrested on suspicion of theft from an employer in Wolverhampton, has been released pending further investigation as enquiries continue.”
A decision is due early next month.
Last week a Rochdale council worker was jailed for theft for 18 months after he stole £80,000 of public money from the authority by abusing his role as a business rates officer at the authority.
Detective constable Sarah Langley of Greater Manchester Police’s Fraud Disruption Team said of Rochdale’s Matthew Ravey, 28, that he saw himself as “some sort of criminal mastermind” with a “full-proof plan to get rich” with public money until a colleague noticed a fraudulent claim he had made.