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Local corrections and police officer arrested for worker's compensation fraud

Dec 03, 2010 12:44 pm
Kevin Schwebke, 26, of First Street in Catskill, a corrections officer and part-time Cairo police officer, was arrested Wednesday for fraudulently accepting $34,000 in workers' compensation benefits, according to the New York State Insurance Department. Schwebke started collecting workers' compensation benefits in 2009 after suffering job-related ankle injuries while working as a corrections officer at the Coxsackie Correctional Facility, officials maintain. During the same time period, he was employed as a part-time police officer with the Town of Cairo Police Department. Schwebke is accused of accepting workers' compensation lost wage benefits and falsely stating that his physical condition left him unable to work while at the same time collecting a salary as a police officer. The police department was unaware he was collecting the benefits. If he is convicted, Schwebke could be sentenced to up to seven years in prison, according to the NYSID. He was released pending action in Albany County Court.