Guiseppe Avigliano, a Lakeland police officer since 2013, has been arrested on charges involving falsified time slips for off-duty work, the Police Department announced today.

Avigliano, 32, was charged with grand theft, a third-degree felony, and booked into the Polk County Jail Tuesday night, the department said in a news release.

APRIL 2021 UPDATE: The charges were dismissed. “The defendant has complied with the terms and agreements of the deferred prosecution program,” Assistant State Attorney Nicole Orr wrote in the dismissal document.

MARCH 2022 UPDATE: Circuit Judge Jalal A. Harb in February granted Avigiliano’s motion to order the arrest expunged from official records of court and law enforcement agencies.

Avigliano signed up for off-duty assignments at an unnamed apartment complex between May and October of last year, the department said. He submitted time slips for overtime payment for those assignments, but several of the assignments he claimed couldn’t be verified through the dispatch system, his car video system or other officers, the department said.

Cell phone records indicated he was at different locations during the disputed times, according to the Police Department.

Avigliano was placed on administrative leave at the start of the investigation and his arrest subjects him to administrative review for further action, the department said. He is paid $55,105 a year.

“We expect all members of the Lakeland Police Department to uphold the highest standards of conduct in both their personal and professional life in order to maintain the public trust and confidence of the citizens we serve,” Police Chief Ruben Garcia said. “When that trust is breached by a law enforcement officer, we must be held accountaboe to the highest standards as well.”

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Barry Friedman

barry@lkldnow.com

Barry Friedman founded Lkldnow.com in 2015 as the culmination of a career in print and digital journalism. Since 1982, he has used the tools of reporting, editing and content curation to help people in Lakeland understand their community better.

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1 Comment

  1. It is unfortunate that a member of law enforcement attempts to get by without doing his job. People might have needed his assistance during those occasions. Another question comes to mind… has he ever taken advantage while on the job? Please keep in mind… innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.

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