Liberty NY – Two police officers have been arrested and charged with having the same person wreck their vehicles to collect insurance money.
In one case, State Police at Liberty allege that William Kloss, III torched a 2005 Dodge Ram 2500 pickup truck for Edward Kowalik, Jr. Kowalik is a police officer with the New York City Department of Environmental Protection Police. Kowalik was having trouble making truck payments. He was charged with arson and insurance fraud.
Kloss was charged with torching the truck on February 26, 2007.
The investigation also revealed that on January 19, Kloss drove a 1999 Jeep Grand Cherokee and staged an accident so the vehicle’s owner, Amanda Cox, would make an insurance claim. Cox is a corporal with the Sullivan County Sheriff’s Office. She was arrested and charged with insurance fraud. She has also been suspended from the sheriff’s office pending further administrative action.
Cox, 25, who is a 3 ½ year member of the sheriff’s office, was recently promoted to the rank of corporal from deputy.
Sheriff Michael Schiff said the alleged incident took place while Cox was off-duty. “The results of this investigation were totally unexpected,†he said.
The investigation into the insurance scam operation could also potentially implicate a member of the Town of Fallsburg Police Department. That case is under investigation as well.
Police also learned that Kloss was allegedly involved in a staged accident March 2004 where he drove a 1994 Toyota pickup truck, owned by Michael Brooks of Jeffersonville, into a tree. Brooks collected insurance money for that.
Kloss was charged with arson with other charges expected, police said.