060802 BUS LL.JPG

Onondaga County sheriff's deputies Crayg Dykes (left) Herb Wiggins ride the Centro bus from the mall to downtown Syracuse in 2002.

(Li-Hua Lan)

Crayg Dykes

George Buckton in his 2003 Onondaga County Sheriff's Office yearbook photo.

Onondaga County deputy sheriff Withro Wiggins receives a handshake after accepting the Medal of Valor award. Wiggins was charged today with offering false time sheets and unlawfully making $1,347.50.

Detective Rudolph Reed (left) in a 2003 file photo.

SYRACUSE, N.Y. -- Four Onondaga County sheriff's deputies face felony charges after they were accused of submitting vouchers and receiving pay for hours they did not work.

Crayg Dykes, Withro "Herb" Wiggins, Jr., Rudolph Reed and George Buckton were all arraigned in City Court this afternoon, Onondaga County District Attorney William J. Fitzpatrick said in news release.

The four deputies submitted vouchers and were paid to provide security on Centro buses to Destiny USA, but an investigation determined they did not do the work, Fitzpatrick said.

All four were charged with felony first-degree offering a false instrument for filing and official misconduct, a misdemeanor.

Dykes received $1,732.50 in unlawful pay, Wiggins received $1,347.50, Buckton received $770 and Reed received $345, Fitzpatrick announced.

Because Dykes and Wiggins received more than $1,000, they were charged with grand larceny, a felony. Reed and Buckton were charged with petit larceny.

A Centro official reported the alleged scam to the district attorney's office, prompting an investigation by the district attorney's office and the Onondaga County Sheriff's Office Internal Affairs Division.

"We will not tolerate the defrauding of taxpaying citizens, no matter who does it," Fitzpatrick said in a statement.

None of the four are listed as inmates at the Onondaga County Justice Center.

Wiggins has served as the public information officer for the department since April 2013 following former spokesman John D'Eredita's promotion to lieutenant.

Dykes, a Democrat, started raising money to run for sheriff at the end of 2013. He raised less than $3,000 and paid $500 for a website design, according to campaign finance records. He quietly dropped out and declined requests for interviews.

Authorities did not provide mug shots of the deputies. We have requested them.

Reporter Michelle Breidenbach contributed to this story.

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