DELRAY BEACH, FLORIDA - A former South Florida police officer has been sentenced to 90 days in jail for defrauding his department.
37-year old Vincent Balestrieri, who worked for the Delray Beach Police Department, claimed he had been called to duty in Iraq when he had actually taken a civilian job in Tampa. Our news partners at the Miami Herald report in addition to lying about being called to serve in Iraq, Balestrieri also received bereavement pay after claiming his mother had died.
During sentencing Friday, Balestrieri admitted that his mother was still alive. He said he committed the fraud because he felt pressure to buy a house he couldn’t afford from his police captain’s wife. He also said his wife had accumulated a number of medical bills they couldn’t afford to pay.
Instead of going to Iraq, Balestrieri actually went to work for Lockheed Martin in Tampa. He was fired by the defense contractor last September.
