RedWhiteBlue
06-12-2008, 07:40 AM
Police say Mesquite High coach pawned, bought back school equipment
12:06 AM CDT on Thursday, June 12, 2008
By MATTHEW HAAG and RICHARD ABSHIRE / The Dallas Morning News
Video cameras, digital cameras and laptop computers kept turning up missing at Mesquite High School's athletic department. And then days or weeks later, the items would mysteriously return.
Eventually, police investigated and found evidence showing that Steve Halpin, the school's athletic coordinator and varsity football coach, was pawning the items and later buying them back.
But rather than press charges against the state championship-winning football coach or report the problem to the Texas Education Agency as is required, Mesquite school officials chose to let Mr. Halpin, 52, quietly retire this week.
"They must report it," said Doug Phillips, TEA's director of investigations. "It's real serious."
TEA officials will begin their investigation soon, Mr. Phillips said.
Mesquite ISD Superintendent Linda Henrie said the district acted appropriately with its own investigation.
"I don't want to be presented that we were trying to cover up something," Dr. Henrie said. "I do know that we reported it in what we thought was a timely manner."
Mr. Phillips said Dr. Henrie could face a reprimand or revocation of her teacher's certificate by the TEA for failure to inform the agency within seven days.
A Mesquite ISD assistant superintendent didn't send a letter to the agency until a week after The Dallas Morning News requested documents and e-mails concerning the thefts, which amounted to more than $2,000.
The letter was sent June 5, about a month after police informed the school district of the evidence that tied Mr. Halpin to three Dallas pawnshops. All three had records showing that the district's property had come and gone multiple times from their businesses.
Mr. Halpin's last day at Mesquite High is scheduled to be Friday. He is in talks with the Longview school district about a coaching job there. When contacted Tuesday, Longview district officials said they had no idea about the investigation.
"There is a reason for not reporting it," Mr. Phillips said. "We call it passing the trash. The person goes away in the night and signs with another district."
Missing items
Co-workers began noticing items missing in November, according to a police report.
In March and April, two coaches at Mesquite High told officers that several cameras, a laptop computer and a projector had disappeared from their offices. Some of the equipment was later returned.
The coaches said Mr. Halpin first denied and then admitted taking some of the items, according to the reports.
Officers checked the Police Department's pawnshop database that showed Mr. Halpin had pawned 270 items at local shops between January 2007 and April 2008, and had pawned two of the school district's cameras three times each.
"All electronics listed in this report were bought and maintained by Mesquite Independent School District and are not the personal property of any employee," the police report says.
By May 1, a week before the district announced Mr. Halpin's retirement, police had compiled a report showing a loss of five cameras and a projector worth a total of $2,075. The police investigated the case as "abuse of official capacity/theft," a state jail felony punishable by six months to two years in jail and a $10,000 fine.
Mesquite school district officials told police not to pursue the matter and said they would handle their own investigation, said Lt. Steve Callarman, a police spokesman.
District spokeswoman Laura Jobe acknowledged that school officials investigated the matter but decided not to seek criminal prosecution.
"Once we were made aware of the situation by the Police Department, we conducted our own internal investigation and we determined that at this time, all the items are accounted for," she said.
She was unable to disclose who made the decision not to pursue the case.
"That was an administrative decision made collectively by several top administrators," Ms. Jobe said.
She said the district decided to allow Mr. Halpin to retire "due to health problems," but she declined to explain those issues because of privacy concerns.
A respected winner
Mr. Halpin is well-known and respected across the state, now serving as president of the Texas High School Coaches Association.
During his 13 years as Mesquite's head coach, he led the school's football team to eight playoff appearances, including the Class 5A Division I state championship in 2001. His oldest son, Marc, was a tight end on the championship team.
Several days after announcing his retirement from Mesquite, Mr. Halpin contacted his friend and Longview athletic director, Pat Collins. The two talked football and about Mr. Halpin's retirement.
Mr. Halpin said he retired to watch his son, Luke, who is slated to be Mesquite's starting quarterback next year, from the stands, Mr. Collins said.
"I said, 'You have a chance to coach your son,' " Mr. Collins said. "But he said he just wanted to see him play."
During conversations over the next few weeks, Mr. Halpin started to express interest in possibly taking a junior varsity coaching position at Longview High School. He told Mr. Collins that he could coach the Thursday night junior varsity games and still have time to make it back to the Dallas area to watch his son play on Fridays.
Mr. Halpin never told Mr. Collins about the investigation in Mesquite. In fact, Mr. Collins didn't learn about it until contacted by the newspaper.
"God almighty, are you serious?" Mr. Collins said. "I will have to talk to Steve. Certainly this would make a difference as far as I'm concerned."
Staff writer Keith Whitmire contributed to this report.
STEVE HALPIN
•Serves as president of the Texas High School Coaches Association. He is scheduled to complete his term in July.
•Graduated from Mesquite High School in 1974 and from Ouachita Baptist University in 1979.
•Joined Mesquite High School as a coach in 1987, as offensive coordinator
•Promoted to head coach of the Skeeters in 1995.
•Salary was $92,631 this year.
•Led the team to eight playoff appearances, including the Class 5A Division I state championship in 2001.
•Amassed a career record of 88 wins and 61 losses.
•His wife, Mary, is an elementary school teacher in Mesquite, and his son, Luke, is slated to be Mesquite's starting quarterback next year. His oldest son, Marc, was a tight end on the 2001 team. His daughter, Sara, was a Mesquite cheerleader.
TIMELINE
November 2007: A laptop computer belonging to the Mesquite school district goes missing. Witnesses tell police that Steve Halpin first blames another coach, then says he loaned the computer to a relative. He later returns it.
Dec. 26-March 17: Records show several cameras belonging to Mesquite schools are pawned on various dates.
March 20: A Mesquite coach contacts one of the school resource officers to report missing equipment.
March 28-April 15: Two more cameras are pawned.
April 24: A second Mesquite coach contacts a school resource officer to report two cameras missing. Later, Mr. Halpin tells the coach he has the cameras and will return them. He reportedly returns one of the cameras but not the other.
April 28: A Mesquite police officer checks the department's pawnshop database and finds Mr. Halpin's name connected to 106 pawned items at local shops between February and April.
May 1: Mesquite police make an offense report alleging "abuse of official capacity/theft," showing a loss of equipment valued at $2,075.
Early May: Mesquite school officials learn that police have evidence linking Mr. Halpin to pawning school-owned equipment.
May 9: Mr. Halpin's retirement is announced.
May 12: A Mesquite police investigator files a supplementary report in which he says he has been contacted by a supervisor and "informed that any further investigation would be conducted by the Mesquite School District and no case or charges would be filed."
May 28: The Dallas Morning News requests e-mails, documents and records from Mesquite ISD concerning Mr. Halpin and sports equipment thefts at Mesquite High School.
June 5: Assistant Superintendent Lanny Frasier sends a letter to the Texas Education Agency informing the agency of a police investigation.
SOURCES: Police documents; Dallas Morning News research
12:06 AM CDT on Thursday, June 12, 2008
By MATTHEW HAAG and RICHARD ABSHIRE / The Dallas Morning News
Video cameras, digital cameras and laptop computers kept turning up missing at Mesquite High School's athletic department. And then days or weeks later, the items would mysteriously return.
Eventually, police investigated and found evidence showing that Steve Halpin, the school's athletic coordinator and varsity football coach, was pawning the items and later buying them back.
But rather than press charges against the state championship-winning football coach or report the problem to the Texas Education Agency as is required, Mesquite school officials chose to let Mr. Halpin, 52, quietly retire this week.
"They must report it," said Doug Phillips, TEA's director of investigations. "It's real serious."
TEA officials will begin their investigation soon, Mr. Phillips said.
Mesquite ISD Superintendent Linda Henrie said the district acted appropriately with its own investigation.
"I don't want to be presented that we were trying to cover up something," Dr. Henrie said. "I do know that we reported it in what we thought was a timely manner."
Mr. Phillips said Dr. Henrie could face a reprimand or revocation of her teacher's certificate by the TEA for failure to inform the agency within seven days.
A Mesquite ISD assistant superintendent didn't send a letter to the agency until a week after The Dallas Morning News requested documents and e-mails concerning the thefts, which amounted to more than $2,000.
The letter was sent June 5, about a month after police informed the school district of the evidence that tied Mr. Halpin to three Dallas pawnshops. All three had records showing that the district's property had come and gone multiple times from their businesses.
Mr. Halpin's last day at Mesquite High is scheduled to be Friday. He is in talks with the Longview school district about a coaching job there. When contacted Tuesday, Longview district officials said they had no idea about the investigation.
"There is a reason for not reporting it," Mr. Phillips said. "We call it passing the trash. The person goes away in the night and signs with another district."
Missing items
Co-workers began noticing items missing in November, according to a police report.
In March and April, two coaches at Mesquite High told officers that several cameras, a laptop computer and a projector had disappeared from their offices. Some of the equipment was later returned.
The coaches said Mr. Halpin first denied and then admitted taking some of the items, according to the reports.
Officers checked the Police Department's pawnshop database that showed Mr. Halpin had pawned 270 items at local shops between January 2007 and April 2008, and had pawned two of the school district's cameras three times each.
"All electronics listed in this report were bought and maintained by Mesquite Independent School District and are not the personal property of any employee," the police report says.
By May 1, a week before the district announced Mr. Halpin's retirement, police had compiled a report showing a loss of five cameras and a projector worth a total of $2,075. The police investigated the case as "abuse of official capacity/theft," a state jail felony punishable by six months to two years in jail and a $10,000 fine.
Mesquite school district officials told police not to pursue the matter and said they would handle their own investigation, said Lt. Steve Callarman, a police spokesman.
District spokeswoman Laura Jobe acknowledged that school officials investigated the matter but decided not to seek criminal prosecution.
"Once we were made aware of the situation by the Police Department, we conducted our own internal investigation and we determined that at this time, all the items are accounted for," she said.
She was unable to disclose who made the decision not to pursue the case.
"That was an administrative decision made collectively by several top administrators," Ms. Jobe said.
She said the district decided to allow Mr. Halpin to retire "due to health problems," but she declined to explain those issues because of privacy concerns.
A respected winner
Mr. Halpin is well-known and respected across the state, now serving as president of the Texas High School Coaches Association.
During his 13 years as Mesquite's head coach, he led the school's football team to eight playoff appearances, including the Class 5A Division I state championship in 2001. His oldest son, Marc, was a tight end on the championship team.
Several days after announcing his retirement from Mesquite, Mr. Halpin contacted his friend and Longview athletic director, Pat Collins. The two talked football and about Mr. Halpin's retirement.
Mr. Halpin said he retired to watch his son, Luke, who is slated to be Mesquite's starting quarterback next year, from the stands, Mr. Collins said.
"I said, 'You have a chance to coach your son,' " Mr. Collins said. "But he said he just wanted to see him play."
During conversations over the next few weeks, Mr. Halpin started to express interest in possibly taking a junior varsity coaching position at Longview High School. He told Mr. Collins that he could coach the Thursday night junior varsity games and still have time to make it back to the Dallas area to watch his son play on Fridays.
Mr. Halpin never told Mr. Collins about the investigation in Mesquite. In fact, Mr. Collins didn't learn about it until contacted by the newspaper.
"God almighty, are you serious?" Mr. Collins said. "I will have to talk to Steve. Certainly this would make a difference as far as I'm concerned."
Staff writer Keith Whitmire contributed to this report.
STEVE HALPIN
•Serves as president of the Texas High School Coaches Association. He is scheduled to complete his term in July.
•Graduated from Mesquite High School in 1974 and from Ouachita Baptist University in 1979.
•Joined Mesquite High School as a coach in 1987, as offensive coordinator
•Promoted to head coach of the Skeeters in 1995.
•Salary was $92,631 this year.
•Led the team to eight playoff appearances, including the Class 5A Division I state championship in 2001.
•Amassed a career record of 88 wins and 61 losses.
•His wife, Mary, is an elementary school teacher in Mesquite, and his son, Luke, is slated to be Mesquite's starting quarterback next year. His oldest son, Marc, was a tight end on the 2001 team. His daughter, Sara, was a Mesquite cheerleader.
TIMELINE
November 2007: A laptop computer belonging to the Mesquite school district goes missing. Witnesses tell police that Steve Halpin first blames another coach, then says he loaned the computer to a relative. He later returns it.
Dec. 26-March 17: Records show several cameras belonging to Mesquite schools are pawned on various dates.
March 20: A Mesquite coach contacts one of the school resource officers to report missing equipment.
March 28-April 15: Two more cameras are pawned.
April 24: A second Mesquite coach contacts a school resource officer to report two cameras missing. Later, Mr. Halpin tells the coach he has the cameras and will return them. He reportedly returns one of the cameras but not the other.
April 28: A Mesquite police officer checks the department's pawnshop database and finds Mr. Halpin's name connected to 106 pawned items at local shops between February and April.
May 1: Mesquite police make an offense report alleging "abuse of official capacity/theft," showing a loss of equipment valued at $2,075.
Early May: Mesquite school officials learn that police have evidence linking Mr. Halpin to pawning school-owned equipment.
May 9: Mr. Halpin's retirement is announced.
May 12: A Mesquite police investigator files a supplementary report in which he says he has been contacted by a supervisor and "informed that any further investigation would be conducted by the Mesquite School District and no case or charges would be filed."
May 28: The Dallas Morning News requests e-mails, documents and records from Mesquite ISD concerning Mr. Halpin and sports equipment thefts at Mesquite High School.
June 5: Assistant Superintendent Lanny Frasier sends a letter to the Texas Education Agency informing the agency of a police investigation.
SOURCES: Police documents; Dallas Morning News research