DA: Cop used fake PCS orders to break lease - Army News | News from Afghanistan & Iraq - Army Times

DA: Cop used fake PCS orders to break lease

ASBURY PARK, N.J. — An Asbury Park police officer has been charged with using fake Army relocation orders to try to break a rental agreement, authorities said.

Liana Howard, 28, of Freehold Township was arraigned this week on an indictment charging her with forgery, uttering a forged instrument, falsifying records and tampering with public records.

Howard, who was hired as an Asbury Park police officer in 2007, has been suspended without pay since the indictment was returned in November.

Her Red Bank-based attorney, Alexander Iler, declined to comment on the case.

Assistant Monmouth County Prosecutor Michael Cunningham said Howard moved into a Long Branch apartment in April 2009, after signing a one-year lease agreement with Pier Village Development.

A short time later, she complained about noise from a nearby business, he said. The company offered to relocate her, but she declined, then vacated the apartment, said Cunningham.

She told the management company she was in the Army and being relocated to Fort Campbell, Ky., and in July 2009, she faxed the company what appeared to be relocation orders, he said.

An employee at the management company called the Army to verify the orders and learned they were not authentic, said Cunningham.

Howard was an Army reservist, but her status has been inactive since June 2009, authorities said.

The investigation was handled by Asbury Park police and the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office.

Howard, who was arraigned before state Superior Court Judge Anthony J. Mellaci Jr., was released on her own recognizance.

Assistant Prosecutor Gregory Schweers is handling the state’s case.