$30,000 secret credit card? New details emerge in case against ex-Merced cop

Investigation reports indicate ex-detective Joe Deliman used a bank account of the Merced police officers’ union to fund almost $45,000 in unauthorized purchases, including numerous everyday expenses like fast-food and groceries to out-of-state travel.

He also funneled almost $30,000 from another account into a credit card only he knew about and used for expenses, according to the reports.

Deliman, 57, was arrested Tuesday and charged with felony grand theft, according to court and jail records.

Deliman was under investigation for about a year after members of the Merced Police Officers Association discovered financial issues from Deliman’s time as head of the Merced Police Officers Association.

“We discovered some discrepancies,” said Nathan McKinnon, the current president of the union. “We felt more appropriate to have the (Attorney General’s Office) investigate everything and turned it over to them.”

Deliman admitted to embezzling funds from the union in August during a hearing stemming from a homicide investigation he once led.

A criminal complaint was filed Tuesday with the Merced County Superior Court alleging Deliman took $82,495.94 in “money and personal property” from the union between Jan. 1, 2014 and Sept. 30, 2017.

The money came from three separate accounts, according to an investigative auditor’s report obtained by the Sun-Star.

From one of the accounts, $28,910 was transferred to a credit card, the report states. Another $5,778.85 was used for unauthorized expenses including $288.04 to AFLAC, $129.60 to “Etch This and That”, $4,961.21 to West Mark Fabrication and $400 to an individual named John Tillery, according to court records.

According to the criminal complaint, Deliman lied to union members and told them the account was closed.

Deliman also used a second account for what appeared to be unauthorized everyday expenses, including trips to gas stations, fast food and groceries. That account also was used to fund expenses outside Merced County, including trips to California cities of San Diego, San Francisco and Carmel, Las Vegas and Reno in Nevada, Huntsville in Alabama and Niagara Falls.

The total amount of unauthorized transactions on the second account was $44,666.81, according to the report.

A third account was used for $3,140.28 in unauthorized transactions, the report states. These transactions included one $140.28 trip to a Merced sushi grill and $3,000 in contributions to three political campaigns.

McKinnon, however, said the political campaign contributions were authorized.

“I can’t comment on any details because I haven’t read the actual AG report yet,” McKinnon said. “But these are the authorized amounts we would have given these candidates.”

Officials at the Attorney General’s Office couldn’t be reached for comment on the political contributions before deadline.