Former Upland police chief charged in $50,000 overtime investigation

Now to Delaware County where authorities say the former Upland Borough police chief has been arrested. Investigators say Michael Irie was paid thousands of dollars in overtime and extra duty hours that he did not work. He's facing now several charges tonight. Action News reporter John Paul, live from Media looking into this story with the details. John. Yeah, you know, Shari, Chief Michael Irie had an arrest warrant issued November 5th. They found him today in New Jersey. Now he's going to be extradited back to Pennsylvania to face the charges. I'm not going to say should know better, damn sure does know better. Strong words from the Delaware County District Attorney tonight after the arrest of the Upland Borough Police Chief, Michael Irie. He's accused of cheating the municipality out of tens of thousands of dollars in overtime that he never performed. That a police officer, that a chief of police is running this kind of scam makes it that much more offensive. The investigation began last December after fellow Upland officers tipped off authorities. They say Chief Irie would sign up for extra shifts doing traffic patrol at schools or DUI patrols covered by grants. But instead of actually doing the work, investigators say Irie would just go to the bar instead. The criminal complaint said he would frequent spots including Old State Tavern and La Porta Restaurant while supposedly working. Officials used cell phone and bank records on top of license plate readers to determine where Irie actually was and compared that to his timesheet. Irie now faces 20 criminal counts, including theft and forgery. Investigators say he made more than $50,000 for work he never performed. The DA says he not only stole from the community, he stole from his fellow officers. This is an overtime detail that is explicitly in the name of making sure kids go to and from school safely. That, by the way, if he wasn't taking and he wasn't collecting the money for, some other officer in the Upland Police Department would have been. And they would have actually been doing the work. Now, I did reach out to the borough council, and I got a statement from the council president. She says that when these allegations surfaced, they suspended the chief. Now, he no longer works for the borough. Live tonight in Media, John Paul, Channel 6 Action News. Well, he did not mince words a bit. John, thank you.