Van Meter chief charged

That would be of the "Only Ones" kind of repeat offender.

Apparently the chief of Van Meter, IA was accused of falsifying records a few years ago and now he's accused of pocketing money.

Van Meter Police Chief Michael A. Merritt was charged today with felonious misconduct in office and insurance fraud.

Both are class D felonies carrying prison terms of up to 5 years on each charge.

Van Meter police chief charged with misconduct, fraud

Good to see the powers at be going after him, let's hope it sticks (if true) and they nail the putz.

Officials said they learned that Merritt was not conducting law enforcement database checks for stolen parts as required for an inspection. They said he also was charging $10 too much for inspections and was accepting cash instead of a check or money order as required by the program.

The Iowa Department of Public Safety in a statement issued Tuesday morning said, “Merritt later admitted he was keeping the additional $10 along with any cash collected from the inspections.”

Public safety officials said he did not disclose income from salvage examinations required by the insurance company.

A penny-ante thief.