DAYTON, OHIO: A Southwest Ohio detective fired for improper conduct — including having a sexual relationship with an informant — will get state disability payments.
The Dayton Daily News reports that 39-year-old Steven Gardiner has been awarded a disability pension from the Ohio Public Employees Retirement System. The newspaper says state officials cited privacy rules in declining to provide details on the payment or what disability he claimed.
No telephone listing was available for the 15-year Montgomery County sheriff’s office veteran.
Gardiner was on the organized crime unit in 2010 when he admitted the relationship with the paid informant. Records show he used covert identification to rent hotel rooms and drove official vehicles on their dates.
Montgomery County Sheriff Phil Plummer says he is amazed Gardiner will get state payments.
