Spokane sheriff’s deputy fired for misconduct

The Spokane County Sheriff’s deputy fired Monday double-billed a retailer he was providing extra security for while working patrol, Sheriff Ozzie Knezovich said. “I talked to him that night,” Knezovich said of Deputy Charles “Chuck” Sciortino, who the sheriff said left his post at an area electronics store on Black Friday to work patrol, but billed the store for a full 12-hour shift. “He could have said, ‘I have a conflict. I signed up for this.’” Sciortino was fired Monday after an internal investigation revealed multiple incidents similar to the Black Friday abandonment of his post, Knezovich said. Sciortino was in full uniform while providing security at the electronics store, he added. “This was conduct unbecoming of a deputy,” the sheriff said. Sciortino has been called in for disciplinary action before, Knezovich said Tuesday. The Sheriff’s Office placed him on administrative leave March 10 to investigate the allegations. At the time, Knezvoich said Sciortino possibly stole up to $700 in pay for work he didn’t perform. The Sheriff’s Office hired Sciortino as a lateral deputy in 2008, according to a news release. He had previously served stints in North Idaho and California before coming to Spokane. While in Idaho, he earned commendations for helping talk down a suicidal woman in 2006. A federal lawsuit filed against him claiming civil rights violations in California was settled out of court, records show. Sciortino is the second sheriff’s deputy fired for misconduct this year. Todd Saunders lost his job in May after allegations surfaced about an improper, on-duty relationship with a woman who wasn’t his wife. Scott Kenoyer was fired in August after an investigation unearthed evidence he was having sex with a woman while on duty, however an out-of-state arbitrator reinstated Kenoyer’s job, also in May.