Delaware town police chief and captain sentenced in federal funds scheme

Two former leaders of a police department in Delaware have been sentenced to prison for stealing federal funds by falsely claiming overtime pay, according to prosecutors.

Michael Redmon, 58, the former chief of the Bethany Beach Police Department, was sentenced to 13 months in prison and ordered to pay $81,890 in restitution and a $50,000 fine, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Delaware.

Darin Cathell, 50, the former captain, was sentenced to two months in prison followed by six months of home detention. He was also ordered to pay $67,790 in restitution and a $25,000 fine.

Prosecutors said Redmon and Cathell spent years submitting claims for overtime shifts they never worked. Redmon falsely reported at least 174 shifts, totaling 760 hours and more than $81,000.

Cathell falsely claimed at least 185 shifts, totaling 800 hours and nearly $68,000. Some of the money came from federal grant funds.

“Michael Redmon and Darin Cathell were sworn to uphold the law. They instead broke it – over and over, for years and years – to the detriment of the Town of Bethany Beach, their fellow officers in the Bethany Beach Police Department, and indeed every citizen who puts their faith in law enforcement,” U.S. Attorney Julianne E. Murray said. “These just sentences reflect the seriousness of the defendants’ crimes.”

Bethany Beach is a small coastal town in southern Delaware, located along the Atlantic Ocean about 120 miles southeast of Washington, D.C.