The police rightly dismissed former agent Frank Giltay at the end of 2017 for ‘serious breach of duty’. The Utrecht court ruled this this Monday afternoon. Giltay, according to the administrative court, acted ‘structurally not with integrity’.
Giltay partied as chairman of the Central Works Council of the National Police, according to his old employer. He and his wife made candy trips to Curaçao and Sint Maarten and spent the night there in expensive hotels, according to the police. He also hired friendly entrepreneurs, according to the police, and messed with the invoices.
According to Giltay, these allegations are incorrect. He acknowledged in court in mid-September that he had sometimes made a mistake financially, but according to him this was due to the time constraints and the shortage of suitable people. The works council received 1.5 million euros annually and that could be spent at its own discretion, he said. Every penny he spent was approved by the then and now deceased former police chief Gerard Bouman, according to Giltay.
The court was not satisfied with that explanation. According to the court, the investigation into Giltay shows that he has adjusted vouchers and invoices, organized ‘excessively expensive events’, withdrew cash with the police credit card and – contrary to the rules – took his wife to Curaçao. Where ‘being frugal’ had been in place, according to the court, Giltay thought he could freely dispose of police money.
Face-defining function
The court blames him for this because he had a “face-defining function,” which he is expected to “act with integrity and with moral awareness.” It took longer than normal for the court to rule, because the police chief had not given Giltay the opportunity to hear recordings of witness hearings from the investigation.
There is another criminal case against Giltay in Zwolle . The Public Prosecution Service suspects him of forgery, scams, embezzlement and official bribery. The case would actually be dealt with in September, but then it became clear that Giltay wanted another counselor. At the beginning of October his current lawyer asked the court to hear new witnesses, that request was approved.
ADDITIONAL FRAUD CHARGES:
Police fraud case will open cesspit…
Frank Giltay The former chairman of the Central Works Council of the police will stand before the criminal court on Monday. He would have committed a ton of fraud.
The list of festive excesses is long. For example, in December 2015, under the leadership of Chairman Frank Giltay, the Central Works Council (COR) of the National Police organized three lavish staff parties for an amount of 84,000 euros. Giltay also attracted attention due to expensive meals, a business trip with his wife and secretary to Curaçao, overnight stays in the Amstel Hotel and substantial alcohol consumption that he partially paid with his police credit card. Disciplinary investigations by the police showed that he also charged his employer the costs of an image coach, as well as tailor-made suits and 198 bottles of prosecco that he had delivered to his wife.
When the freak expenses of the works council – which had an annual budget of around 1.5 million euros – came to light three years ago, the career of the first COR chairman of the National Police fell into free fall. In 2016, after a four-year reign, he had to resign as chairman and a year later, he was dismissed for very serious breach of duty. On Monday, Frank Giltay (57) is in a pre-trial session before the criminal court in Zwolle for, among other things, forgery and embezzlement. It is the first time that he can respond publicly to the accusations.
Eleven edges
The indictment is an eleven-edged list of expenses that Giltay, according to the Public Prosecution Service, incorrectly claimed as co-determination costs. For many thousands of euros, bills were submitted from an event agency in Almere. According to the judiciary, these were falsely booked under the heading ‘COR daily management costs’ or ‘meeting arrangement’. Giltay is also said to have invented invoices with two female suspects: ‘preparation video recording festival police craftsmanship’ for 15,730 euros or ‘advice regarding Police item’ amounting to 10,800 euros. He also had money from the COR posted on the account of ‘Almere Bruist’, a project of his partner Brenda.
Frank Giltay will defend himself in the Zwolle court. A few months ago he broke the bond with his lawyer. Reportedly, Giltay was no longer able to pay counsel because the police union does not want to reimburse the assistance. The Public Prosecution Service wants clarity from Giltay about how it will proceed in the course of the further procedure. “We want to know how the suspect intends to conduct his defense,” says a spokesperson for the national public prosecutor’s office.
Painful affair
The prosecution of Giltay is still a painful affair for the suspect and the police force to this day. Giltay was for many years a confidant of the first police chief of the National Police, Gerard Bouman. The police boss lent him four thousand euros from his own pocket when Giltay was unable to pay the costs of the two mortgages he owned for an amount of 814,500 euros. Just before he left in 2016, Bouman personally arranged the promotion of Giltay to a higher salary scale.
The Ministry of Justice ordered an investigation by the so-called Ruys commission into this issue. He concluded that in his contacts with Giltay, Bouman had acted “unprofessional” and “inappropriate” because it gave the impression that he was buying the COR’s support. By giving Giltay more salary, Bouman has ‘evoked the image of arbitrariness and personal favoring’. Bouman was never able to hear those conclusions himself. He died bitterly on July 31, 2017, a few days before the Ruys commission report was to be presented.
Sew on ear
The former COR chairman does not want to respond to NRC in the criminal case. Previously, he told this newspaper that he feels the victim of colleagues who “wanted to sew him an ear.” In 2016, Giltay explained in a confidential letter to the other 34 members of the COR that the high expenditures were part of the small goals set by the consultative body. The aim was to “invent new style co-determination” and to be an important player in the new national police system. The consultative body had to be “considered as its own business that needs to be managed professionally and supported professionally and appropriately.”
Within the police organization, there is a fear that the fraud process against Giltay will result in a mud fight where the leadership will also be stained. Giltay told close colleagues that he always had “coverage” of the corps management with his expenses. He has no intention of going down in silence.
And then there are two more criminal cases against former distinguished police officers who feel abandoned by their superiors. A week after Giltay, the Eindhoven police commissioner Peter van den E. is also on trial for fraud.
There is also a fraud process against the former police commissioner from Amsterdam, Ad Smit. “That investigation is still ongoing,” says a spokesman for the OM in Amsterdam. The report against him for embezzlement is already three years old, but the trial of investigating officers is not always going smoothly.
https://www.nrc.nl/nieuws/2019/05/12/fraudezaak-politie-kan-beerput-openen-a3959999