Former Merced police detective admits taking money from city union for personal use

A former Merced police detective on Tuesday admitted embezzling money from the city’s police union.

Ex-detective Joe Deliman’s admission came while he was testifying in an unrelated homicide case in which he once was the lead investigator.

Deliman was under oath on the witness stand Tuesday during the murder trial of Jerome Slayton, a homicide case not related to the alleged embezzlement case connected to Deliman.

Slayton’s attorney, Merced County Deputy Public Defender Ramnik Samrao, asked Deliman if he had taken union money “for your own personal use.”

“Yes,” Deliman replied in open court.

The longtime former police officer has been under investigation for nearly a year in connection with financial discrepancies during his time as head of the Merced Police Officers Association.

Deliman was the lead detective investigating the 2008 slaying of Michael Riley, a 29-year-old Merced resident, until just before he retired from the Merced Police Department in August 2017. Detective Joe Horn took over the case.

Samrao questioned Deliman’s credibility in the wake of the embezzlement investigation. Deliman’s 2010 interviews with a confidential witness identified Slayton as a possible suspect.

Deliman declined to answer several of Samrao’s questions in connection with the alleged embezzlement scheme, and he declined to provide any more details on the unrelated investigation.

Samrao moved to strike Deliman as a witness after Deliman refused to answer the embezzlement-related questions.

However, Merced County Judge Donald Shaver said because Deliman hadn’t been charged with a crime, Shaver would allow Deliman to not answer those questions.

Samrao asked Deliman Tuesday if he was given any promises of immunity for testifying.

“Yes,” Deliman said and also acknowledged there was no immunity agreement in writing.

Rob Carroll, Merced County chief deputy district attorney, said immunity wasn’t an issue in the case because Shaver allowed Deliman to not answer specific questions about the alleged embezzlement.

Samrao said it was “odd” that Deliman admitted to taking the union’s money for personal use without signing an immunity agreement.

An affidavit described the veteran police detective using union funds to pay for trips to Las Vegas and Niagara Falls and other activities.

The issues first surfaced after Deliman left the police department in August 2017 for a position with the Merced County District Attorney’s Office. Deliman stepped down from the prosecutor’s office in December, just days after the embezzlement probe came to light.

Deliman has not been charged with any wrongdoing. The case is being investigated by the California Attorney General’s Office.

Merced Police Chief Chris Goodwin said that Deliman’s admission was “a sad thing,” and the embezzlement was “completely wrong.”

“I guess now that he is under oath admitting to it, it may move this whole investigation forward,” Goodwin said. “Hopefully, the police department can start healing through this mess,”

It remained unclear how - or even if - Deliman’s testimony might affect the embezzlement probe. Officials with the Attorney General’s Office declined to comment Tuesday.

This story was originally published August 28, 2018 at 5:04 PM.