Police in Parker-Broderick Surrogate Case Charged With Several Felonies

CINCINNATI — Two Ohio police chiefs accused of snooping on the surrogate mother for actors Sarah Jessica Parker and Matthew Broderick were charged with several felonies on Friday.

Special prosecutor T. Shawn Hervey said the men conspired to take items from the woman's eastern Ohio home to sell to celebrity photographers.

At an arraignment Friday, Martins Ferry Police Chief Barry Carpenter was charged with two counts of burglary, one count of receiving stolen property, one count of theft in office, one count of unauthorized use of property or services and one count of tampering with evidence.

Bridgeport Police Chief Chad Dojack, 30, was charged with two counts of complicity to burglary and one count of complicity to receiving stolen property.

Both men pleaded not guilty and are free on their own recognizance. Neither of the men could be reached for comment. There are no residential telephone listings for them.

Carpenter could face 21 1/2 years in prison if convicted on all charges, and Dojack could face up to 14 1/2 years if convicted on all charges against him.

Martins Ferry Mayor Phil Wallace said he gave Carpenter the day off on Friday and still considered him the working police chief. Wallace said he planned to meet with Carpenter Monday morning and would make a decision later next week on whether to suspend the chief.

The mayor declined to comment specifically on the allegations but indicated he was concerned about the scandal reflecting poorly on his community.

"I'm really disappointed that things have to happen like this in a small town. It's bad, and I wish it wouldn't have happened. But it did, so we've just got to put up with it," Wallace said.

Messages seeking comment from Bridgeport Mayor John Callarik were left at his office Friday. Bridgeport police wouldn't comment on whether Dojack is still on the job.

Hervey said that Carpenter is alleged to have entered the home of Michelle Ross and removed items from the home identifying Ross as the surrogate mother. Along with Dojack, Carpenter attempted to sell the items to photographers, Hervey said.

Carpenter, 32, also is accused of using his office to commit the crimes, destroying evidence and illegally using a law enforcement computer system, Hervey said.

"It is extremely troubling that the persons sworn to uphold the law and protect the public are now charged with violating those oaths," Hervey said.

He also said it was troubling that society "is so celebrity crazed that a market exists and tens of thousands of dollars are exchanged for pictures and stories of celebrity scandal."

"Unfortunately, the city and Belmont County are now living their own Hollywood soap opera," the prosecutor said.

The alleged burglary took place in mid-May in the eastern Ohio town of Martins Ferry, and the allegations against Carpenter and Dojack surfaced about a week later.

Ross is no longer believed to be staying in the Martins Ferry area, officials have said.

The surrogate mother, who gave birth to twins June 22 at an Ohio hospital, was not home at the time of the alleged burglary.

Publicist Simon Halls has said Parker and Broderick "have complete faith in the legal system."

A message was left for Halls at his office Friday.

___

Associated Press writer Doug Whiteman in Columbus, Ohio, contributed to this report.

Comments

[Bettysdad]

04:15 AM on 08/03/2009

Why is this story buried in Entertainment?

This should be on the Home page, as it is another example of how vile our cops are.

[medicontheedge]

11:07 AM on 08/02/2009

More crooked cops?
i'm shocked, i tell you. shocked.

[diidii73]

12:31 AM on 08/02/2009

so can call these two cops stupid for want they did.or am i going to have to hold my own beer summit.
am sure they are good cops,but want they did is wrong and stupid. i will buy the beer

[PatA]

04:05 PM on 08/01/2009

Why attack SJP and MB? Get a life and don't read the posts that involve people that you hate....okay?

[wonkguy]

02:09 PM on 08/01/2009

I'm from Ohio. I went to school down in the Cinci-Oxford area. It is strange country down there populated with strange folk. So if you have two police chiefs conspiring to commit several felonies in Cincinnati, Ohio, isn't it possible that a police officer up in Cambridge, Mass possibly made a really bad decision?

[jsgaetano]

01:48 PM on 08/01/2009

So aren't there all kinds of Bush-era laws which protect law enforcement when they do this kind of stuff? Maybe the Patriot Act?

Darn, if only Cheney were still in office, he could have said they were covered by Executive Privelege.

[Bob48Burg]

01:33 PM on 08/01/2009

"'I'm really disappointed that things have to happen like this in a small town. It's bad, and I wish it wouldn't have happened. But it did, so we've just got to put up with it,' Wallace said."

Geez. really? You just got to put up with it? You're the mayor: Fire him!

[liberalsrheros]

11:24 AM on 08/02/2009

yeah, that was the biggest head shaker out of a story full of 'em.

[mychagal]

12:24 PM on 08/01/2009

Lock them up and throw away the key.

[rte148]

11:48 AM on 08/01/2009

I'm waiting for Rudy Guilliani to come to the cop's defense.

[NoSillyName]

11:32 AM on 08/01/2009

Again, I ask: Is MB a living, breathing, human being or a wax figure?

[Agentlady007]

12:41 AM on 08/02/2009

He's a living breathing human being.

[NoSillyName]

12:35 AM on 08/03/2009

Oh, thanks, AL. He never looks like one in his pictures here at HP.

[FZliveson]

10:57 AM on 08/01/2009

Agentlady007: I looked at your profile and have to ask, How can you be so "this place is Communist" with so many liberal democrats on your favorite blogger section?
Are you saying Oblahblah, Hillary and RFK, Jr. are communists?
Straighten us out...you don't make sense.

[Agentlady007]

03:16 PM on 08/01/2009

I am saying the state governments are corrupt and that communism is taking place in your own state, and the federal government can't do anything about it. I am saying this country has governors who abuse human rights by letting their authorities act like commanding officers, with threats and command decisions they feel they have the right to instill on the public when they choose to, with threats as an example, not because anyone did anything wrong. The state governments are run by people who not deserve authority and who try and follow new reguations regarding subjects they know nothing about. If you say something the wrong way to an authority with a badge they can put you away; This is not a free country. It is just about money. Without money to pay them off, you are a prisoner in America. That's not freedom.

[Agentlady007]

03:25 PM on 08/01/2009

( If I thought Obama and Hillary and RFK JR. were commies, I would have said it. I don't think they are. They are trying to better America with liberal progressive ideas FOR THE PEOPLE. That's the whole idea. State and federal authorities don't live in the same context of the kind of America I want the future to be for the children of this country. We are dealing with problems in state government, and they get away with involuntary manslaughter to their own people. They put people on medications that are killing people by the millions as a result. This is a serious violation of human rights, and there are no laws to protect the people unless you follow their orders. )

[FZliveson]

09:43 AM on 08/03/2009

Thanks. I think you'd gain a lot to read up on what the definition is of "Communism."
There are a lot of authoritarian decisions being made, but not for the betterment of the people. This is more fascist than communist in my view.

[NPA]

10:10 AM on 08/01/2009

What bad cops in America? Who knew?

[pat8942]

09:43 AM on 08/01/2009

"It is extremely troubling that the persons sworn to uphold the law and protect the public are now charged with violating those oaths," Hervey said.
===========================================================================
Cops all over the country violate "These Oaths" everyday, but nobody cares until it happens to a celebrity.
If these guys had robbed an average Joe all they would have faced was paid administrative leave.

[Harrier]

06:15 AM on 08/01/2009

I'm surprised Top brass is involved except when I saw the age of one. It is interesting that people will put their entire career and retirement on something that couldn't possibly be close to that value. When you have two from different departments conspiring, you wonder how the thought they could get away with it when the people they are robbing have more resources than their departments combined. How does a 30 year old become police chief? It is a tough economy and a lot of great and awesome workers are unemployed. But there are few jobs better than 14-21 years in prison. Even with time served, when they get out, they will never be able to get decent jobs. Nobody will hire them because of their record and they will have been in the pen for so long, everything will have changed and they will not have the skills to do much. Maybe they will a least get medical care.

If you are honest, you never have to worry about remembering the lies you tell

[Mikeeee]

02:37 AM on 08/01/2009

Shouldn't it be pics of the cops? And if they're being charged with complicity as I think they should be, then it further confirms my thinking that police who do not speak up about other officers assaulting ppl or other crimes are complicit and should be charged as would we, if we failed to report a crime we knew was happening.

[OliverTwist]

07:49 AM on 08/01/2009

Maybe give them an opportunity to engage in obstruction?