NEWS > 29 August 2006

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Cape Cod Times - Hyannis,MA,US
29 August 2006

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Deputy faces shoplifting charg

BARNSTABLE - A Barnstable County deputy sheriff pleaded not guilty yesterday to shoplifting and larceny charges.

Michael T. Robinson, 35, of 11 Greenwood Ave. in Hyannis, was arrested Friday afternoon by Barnstable police at the Cape Cod Mall in Hyannis after security guards caught him trying to steal more than $500 worth of merchandise from two mall stores, the police said.

He is the fifth officer from the Barnstable County Sheriff's Office to face criminal charges in 2006.

Robinson was arraigned yesterday in Barnstable District Court and released on personal recognizance. A pretrial conference was set for Sept. 29.

Surveillance cameras inside the Macy's department store captured Robinson stuffing four shirts, each valued at $46, into a backpack before he left the store without paying, according to court documents.

A pair of Macy's security guards confronted Robinson outside the entrance to the mall. When they asked him to return to the mall's security office, Robinson initially refused. ''Robinson resisted all attempts of detainment,'' Matthew Blondin, the assistant security manager at Macy's, wrote in a report. ''He did not want to be touched or told where to go.''

When security officers opened Robinson's backpack, they discovered the four shirts from Macy's as well as more than $300 worth of items from the Discovery Channel store - including a camera and a weather station. Robinson was also carrying $700 in cash.

Barnstable police responded to the mall and placed Robinson under arrest just before 5 p.m. During his booking, the suspect told police he worked for Robinson Septic Service in Hyannis - a family business. He did not tell police that he also has worked as a corrections officer at the Barnstable County Correctional Facility since May 2003.

On his way out of court yesterday, Robinson, on the advice of Mashpee attorney Peter Lloyd, declined to answer questions about the charges.

Robinson has a long history of traffic-related offenses, according to state motor vehicle records. Between 1989 and 2005, his license has been repeatedly suspended, he has been ticketed for speeding eight times, and he had to complete a class for habitual traffic offenders.

Barnstable County Sheriff James Cummings declined to comment on Robinson's arrest. Dave Neal, a sheriff's office spokesman, said Robinson has been suspended without pay pending the outcome of his case.

The sheriff's department has more than 325 employees and has a $25 million budget.

In an internal sheriff's office newsletter published last month, Cummings revealed a probe by the Massachusetts State Ethics Commission into abuse of power allegations directed against some high-ranking sheriff's office employees.

Robinson is one of the officers named in the complaint, at least part of which has been obtained by the Times. The complaint alleges that Deputy Supt. Richard Bonavita asked Robinson during work hours to contact one of his family members about making septic repairs at Bonavita's West Barnstable home.

Bonavita, who has been out on worker's compensation since February 2005, is accused in the ethics complaint of overstepping his authority in more than 15 different situations. Bonavita's lawyer could not be reached yesterday for comment. Bonavita has in the past referred all questions to his lawyer.

In the newsletter, Cummings wrote that the ethics complaint is merely the work of a few disgruntled employees. ''I regret that some of you have been unjustly maligned because of this,'' Cummings wrote.

Robinson is the fifth sheriff's employee to face criminal charges this year - all five of whom were hired by Cummings since he was elected to his first term as sheriff in 1998. Cummings, a Republican, ran unopposed in 2004 for a second six-year term.

Cummings currently is managing the re-election campaign of Cape and Islands District Attorney Michael O'Keefe, who is running unopposed.

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Cape Cod Times - Hyannis,MA,US29 August 2006

Deputy faces shoplifting charg

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Cape Cod Times - Hyannis,MA,US
29 August 2006