WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — Five West Palm Beach Police Officers placed on paid administrative leave for more than 15 months collectively made close to $1 million last year without working a single shift, according to records WPTV obtained from a public records request.
WATCH: 5 police officers collectively made $1 million on paid leave
The officers were placed on paid administrative leave, one day after Police Chief Frank Adderley was fired in October, over allegations they worked overtime details during their regular scheduled hours. Each of the four captains and one assistant chief was part of the last administration's command staff, which the new department’s deputy chief criticized for creating a divide between themselves and other rank and file officers apart of the department.
Kat Joy, a spokesperson for city administration and the mayor’s office, told WPTV the city couldn’t comment on potential timelines on the officers either returning to work or being removed from the department because of a legal challenge filed against the city.
Four of the suspended police officers and their police union, the Florida State Lodge Fraternal Order of Police, sued the department in May 2025 over their handling of the investigation. Court records show the case is still pending with a hearing scheduled for March 2026.
City payroll records, which WPTV’s Ethan Stein received from an open records request, show each of those four officers received six-figure salaries from the department without working a single shift.
The records show Captain Troy Marchese received more than another officer because he also received payments for other benefits like sick and vacation time and EPL. Assistant Chief Tameca West is also on paid administrative leave after an audit identified her as working overtime during regular scheduled hours as well.
- Captain Troy Marchese received $275,978
- Captain Joseph Ahern received $171,715
- Captain Theodore Swiderski received $173,574
- Captain Dennis Wobbel received $173,574
- Assistant Chief Tameca West received $199,829
An internal audit performed by the West Palm Beach Police Department back in September 2024 identified four of the five employees—the other officer was redacted because he was undercover personnel—for stealing more than 600 hours over 10 months.
The audit came after two different city audits into the overtime issue in September 2020 and March 2022. Those earlier audits didn’t identify specific employees, but identified that the city used two different human resource systems to clock overtime details and regular scheduled hours. This, the audits said, allowed the overlapping hours to occur because the two systems didn’t communicate with each other.
West Palm Beach's police union said a city memo they've uncovered through a public records request shows captains, like those suspended, were able to flex their schedule to work overtime details at other times when they worked other hours while responding to various events like crime scenes.
West Palm Beach
AUDIT: 5 West Palm Beach police officers accused of stealing over 600 hours
"Command Staff positions are subject to flex scheduling and/or hours at the direction and authority of the Chief of Police," reads the 12-page document in response to a 2020 city internal audit finding officers were being overpaid back during fiscal year 2019. "Management submits that the identified employees (as well as the entire Command Staff) routinely work more than 40 hours per week without hourly compensation…The identified 'overlapping' hours would only be relevant if these staffers worked standard hours; they do not and their ability to work some overtime details at unusual hours is authorized by the Chief of Police."
Adam Myers, president of the Fraternal Order of Police in West Palm Beach, said in October these statements show the city knew about captains changing their schedules to work various overtime details. He also said these documents show that the criminal investigation and internal investigation about the alleged time stealing was never necessary.
Myers didn’t respond to WPTV’s request for comment and a lawyer representing some of the suspended officers declined to comment on this report.
Former Police Chief Frank Adderley explained the situation to investigators from the sheriff's office in body camera video WPTV obtained from a public records request.
"You know, if the guys had a homicide like the night before, 2 a.m. to 6 a.m., I don't think he's coming in 8 a.m.," Adderley said in the footage.
Adderley was fired by Mayor Keith James as police chief last year, citing a variety of instances, including financial improprieties among staff members.
James has never specified those claims, but the seven officers were suspended after Adderley’s firing. Letters that WPTV obtained show those officers were placed on paid leave for overtime/financial misconduct.
Region C Palm Beach County
REPORT: 'No evidence' to charge 7 West Palm Beach officers with misconduct
The Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office investigated the double dipping allegations after the city referred the case, but a report WPTV obtained shows deputies found there was "lack of evidence showing probable cause to charge" the then seven officers who were placed on administrative leave in April 2025.
West Palm Beach Deputy Chief Tony Shearer told investigators the six captains, who made up six of the seven officers suspended, were responsible for the toxic culture issues and leadership flaws within the city’s police department. He said the captains were dubbed “SEAL Team Six” and had a reputation for ruining careers.
"Many people that have come forward and say, 'You know, we're so glad that change is happening,' because it appears that many were under the assumption that 'Seal Team Six' were not only stifling careers, ruining careers," Shearer said. "And if you get in the way of their efforts, if you try to openly complain about what they were doing, your career would be in danger."
Assistant chiefs were allowing this environment to fester, according to Shearer. He also said captains were able to pick premium details for overtime first, based on seniority, and then shift their hours to cover the details. He said this led to complaints from the rank and file officers.
“It was my understanding that because of all the complaints coming from the officers, sergeants and lieutenants, who couldn't do this shift, change adjust," Shearer told investigators. "They were saying this is hypocritical and this is wrong."
West Palm Beach police senior command staff told officers the agency is facing staffing challenges repeatedly, while it also heard complaints about the detail assignments. Shearer said he believed the overtime detail issue was a scheme where officers "double-dipped" to get more pay.
"Unless you truly are working eight hours for the company… and then another eight hours or so for the city, someone's going to get short-changed," Shearer said. "So, do I think it was just a mix-up of paperwork? Absolutely not. It definitely is a scheme to defraud. It's just a matter of how much, how long, and how much monies were accumulated, and it sounds like this has gone on for years."
An attorney for the officers involved in this internal investigation said they have filed their own complaint against Shearer due to his false accusations.
