Former Des Plaines police commander, Timothy Veit, accused of falsely inflating DUI arrests to obtain federal grant money, has plead guilty to a lesser charge. Veit was charged with a felony count of making false statements and faced a maximum 5 year prison sentence. He ultimately plead guilty to a misdemeanor charge involving embezzlement and theft of public money.
Veit was accused of padding DUI arrests by 122 and falsifying BAC results in conjunction with those arrests according to a written plea agreement. The increased number of arrests allowed the Des Plaines police department to receive almost $184,000 in grants from the Sustained Traffic Enforcement Program funded by the Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. According to federal authorities, Veit personally received approximately $32,000 in overtime from the grant program. He retired from the department in 2012 after 31 years of service.
As a result of the plea, Veit must repay the overtime to IDOT. In addition, both parties agreed to a six month prison sentence and 200 hours of community service. Sentencing is scheduled for October 2.
Former police commander padded DUI arrests to obtain grants, www.chicagotribune.com, June 4, 2014