New charges filed against suspended Ambridge police chief

Police on Wednesday filed additional charges against a Beaver County police chief already facing charges of theft, fraud and threatening his own officers, court records show.

The new charges against James Mann, 61, include felony counts of theft, witness intimidation and threatening harm to influence the judicial process, along with several misdemeanors.

Mann has been suspended as Ambridge’s police chief since April. State police filed charges against him four months later, alleging he falsified time sheets while off work with a back injury.

It was not immediately clear what prompted the new charges.

The original investigation started a year ago when Ambridge Mayor David Drewnowski told police that a man in disguise — believed to be an Ambridge police sergeant — left a letter at his door accusing Mann of filling out fraudulent time cards while on sick leave, according to the criminal complaint.

The letter alleged that Mann, who was off duty due to injury for most of 2017, had used all of his paid time off but kept getting his full wage by filing time sheets for sick time, compensatory time and vacation time, police wrote in the complaint.

He signed the alleged fraudulent cards himself, according to police.

At least 10 Ambridge officers told state police Mann had threatened and harassed them, calling himself “a caged animal,” according to the complaint.

In addition to the felony counts filed Wednesday, police also charged Mann with misdemeanor counts of obstruction of law, retaliation for past official action and official oppression.