Six Northwest Indiana police officers were stripped of their law enforcement powers and suspended from duty Tuesday as federal officials delivered subpoenas there.
The federal investigation is focused on the alleged sale of Lake County-owned property, including weapons purchased or confiscated by county police, to private parties, sources said. One of the primary targets allegedly sold a machine gun to a customer in a southern state for $4,500 and kept the money.
Three potential targets of the investigation held top spots under former Lake County Sheriff Roy Dominguez.
“This afternoon I was made aware by federal authorities of an ongoing investigation into certain police officers,” Dominguez said Tuesday evening. “Since it is ongoing, I don’t want to say anything that would compromise the investigation.”
Capt. Marco Kuyachich, Lt. Michael Reilly, Sgt. Joe Kumstar and Patrolmen Edward Kabella, Scott Shelhart and Ronald Slusser are on administrative leave pending action by the police merit board, Sheriff John Buncich said.
“Nobody tarnishes the badge,” Buncich said. “I won’t tolerate it.”
Kumstar is an assistant auctioneer with Hobart-based Kraft Auctions, which has a gun and collectible sale set for September.
When Buncich took office in January, he reassigned Kuyachich, who was the chief, to transportation; Reilly, a commander, to the civil division, and Kumstar, the deputy chief, to transportation.
Shelhart and Slusser were working in patrol until Tuesday. Kabella was a member of the department’s interdiction unit, which specializes in identifying and stopping drug traffic on major thoroughfares in the area.
At least two of the officers hold federal firearms dealers licenses. Authorities were unable to determine Tuesday if those licenses would be automatically suspended as part of the investigation.
The six officers were ordered to surrender their duty weapons, keys, radios and any other department-owned equipment and told they cannot work any supplemental law enforcement-related job, he added.
Indiana law prohibits a police administrator from suspending officers without pay until a formal hearing is conducted.
Federal authorities confirmed a search warrant was issued but declined to elaborate.