A Nassau County police
officer was arrested Tuesday morning after he allegedly stole baby food from a
West Hempstead store at an earlier date.
According to investigators,
Thomas Welsh, 48, entered the Stop and Shop located at 520 Cherry Valley Lane
in West Hempstead and secreted numerous pouches of baby food on his person
using plastic bags and a bungee cord. The value of the merchandise was
approximately $40.
The Nassau County Internal Affairs
Unit arrested Welsh Tuesday morning at 9 a.m. at police headquarters in
Mineola.
Welsh was charged with petit
larceny and possession of burglary tools. He was released on an appearance
ticket and will appear at First District Court in Hempstead on May 17.
A police spokesman told The
Associated Press that Welsh, a 25-year veteran of the force
assigned to the Records Bureau, has been suspended without pay for 30 days.
According to Newsday
[paid link]:
Welsh, on the job since 1986, earned
$147,607.43 in 2010, including base salary and overtime, according to county
payroll records. He is assigned to the police department's records bureau,
which helps handle gun-permit requests, processes prisoners and tests suspected
drunken drivers.