Nearly $10,000 Reported Missing From Bridgeport Police Safe

BRIDGEPORT, Conn. (CBSNewYork/AP) -- An investigation has started to determine what happened to nearly $10,000 reported missing from the Bridgeport Police Department's evidence safe.

The missing money had been seized in May 2011 from the home of a man charged with killing his girlfriend.

But according to an internal memo obtained by The Connecticut Post, when police tried to retrieve the money last month for prosecutors who wanted to use it as evidence at trial, it could not be found.

The money was taken in by the property room but it was never assigned an exhibit number, the newspaper reported.

The publication further quotes a police source as saying that some officers facing assault and drug possession charges themselves were assigned to watch over money and guns seized by police in various criminal cases, WCBS 880's Fran Schneidau reported.

Police Chief Joseph Gaudett said as soon as he found out about the missing cash, he alerted internal affairs, which started an investigation. He said he could not comment further on an ongoing investigation.

Another $30,000 in seized money may be missing as well, according to the newspaper.

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