Roger MacLean is an American police officer and politician who was president of the

Allentown, Pennsylvania Allentown (Pennsylvania Dutch language, Pennsylvania Dutch: ''Allenschteddel'', ''Allenschtadt'', or ''Ellsdaun'') is a city in Lehigh County, Pennsylvania, Lehigh County, Pennsylvania. The city has a population of 125,845 as of the 2020 United ...

City Council and served as acting Allentown mayor until March 29, 2018. MacLean became the acting mayor on March 9, 2018 following the resignation of

Ed Pawlowski Edwin Everett Pawlowski is an American politician who served as the 41st Mayor of Allentown, Pennsylvania. He held the office from 2006 until his resignation in 2018, following his election to a fourth term in 2017. He resigned after being convic ...

, who was convicted on March 1, 2018 on 47 felony charges related to a

pay-to-play Pay-to-play, sometimes pay-for-play or P2P, is a phrase used for a variety of situations in which money is exchanged for services or the privilege to engage in certain activities. The common denominator of all forms of pay-to-play is that one mus ...

scheme involving his asking for campaign donations in exchange for city contracts and favors. From 2006 to 2013, MacLean served as the chief of police of the Allentown Police Department. In 2015, he was elected to Allentown's City Council, defeating incumbent Joe Davis.

Biography

Personal life and education

MacLean graduated from

William Allen High School William Allen High School is one of two large, urban public high schools of the Allentown School District in Allentown, Pennsylvania. The school provides public education for grades 9 through 12. William Allen High School is located at 106 North 17 ...

. He earned a Master's degree in criminal justice from

DeSales University DeSales University (DSU) is a private Catholic university in Center Valley, Pennsylvania. The university offers traditional, online, and hybrid courses and programs at the undergraduate and graduate levels. Named for St. Francis de Sales, the un ...

Center Valley, Pennsylvania Center Valley is an unincorporated community located one mile north of Coopersburg, at the intersection of Pennsylvania State Routes 309 and 378 in Upper Saucon Township in Lehigh County, Pennsylvania. It is part of the Lehigh Valley, which had ...

Allentown Police Department

From 1972 until 2013, Roger MacLean served as a police officer with the Allentown Police Department, including his final eight years as Chief of Police. He graduated from both the

FBI National Academy The FBI National Academy is a program of the FBI Academy for active U.S. law enforcement personnel and also for international law enforcement personnel who seek to enhance their credentials in their field and to raise law enforcement standards, kno ...

and the FBI Law Enforcement Executive Development Seminar. MacLean joined the Allentown Police Department in 1972 as a

cadet A cadet is an officer trainee or candidate. The term is frequently used to refer to those training to become an officer in the military, often a person who is a junior trainee. Its meaning may vary between countries which can include youths in ...

. In 1974, he was promoted to a commissioned officer and served within the department's tactical squad, 1st Platoon, and the mounted patrol. In 1982, Allentown Police Chief Carson S. Gable demoted MacLean and three other police officers following accusations by then Allentown mayor Joseph Daddona that the quartet were part of a group of supporters of the previous police chief, Arthur Allender. The four were also accused by the mayor of bullying behavior, which damaged department morale and operated outside of the command. MacLean and his colleagues filed a lawsuit against the city in response, denying the allegation against them and accusing the Daddona administration of demoting them because they had not supported the mayor during his election campaign. MacLean and the other officers eventually won their lawsuit and were each awarded $125,000 in damages in 1988. MacLean was further promoted to the positions of detective sergeant in 1984 and patrol lieutenant in 1990. He commanded the 2nd and 3rd Platoons until his 1997 reassignment as supervisor of the investigation division's B Team. In 1994, MacLean joined with 18 other Allentown police captains and lieutenants in lawsuit against the city. The 19

plaintiffs A plaintiff (pi (letter), Π in List of legal abbreviations, legal shorthand) is the party who initiates a lawsuit (also known as an ''action'') before a court. By doing so, the plaintiff seeks a legal remedy. If this search is successful, the co ...

charged that the city government had denied them pay raises that would have equaled the senior members of the police union, the

Fraternal Order of Police The Fraternal Order of Police (FOP) is a fraternal organization consisting of sworn law enforcement officers in the United States. It reports a membership of over 355,000 members organized in 2,100 local chapters (lodges), state lodges, and the ...

. The officers, including MacLean, won the lawsuit in 1996. In 1997, MacLean and two other police officers filed another suit against the city. The trio charged that then Allentown mayor William Heydt denied them promotions within the police department because they had won the previous 1994 lawsuit. The city reached a legal settlement with MacLean and two other officers. As part of the settlement, MacLean $20,000 and six-months free rent at a property owned by the city of Allentown. MacLean rose to become second in command of the Allentown Police Department's Emergency Response Team. He also taught courses at the Allentown Police Academy. In 2001, Allentown Mayor William Heydt, who was near the end of his second term, appointed MacLean as the city's acting police chief. Heydt's successor, Mayor Roy Afflerbach, who took office in January 2002, replaced MacLean with a permanent police chief, Stephen L. Kuhn. MacLean served as patrol captain from 2002 until his appointment as Chief of the Allentown Police Department by Mayor

in 2006. From 1972 to 2006, MacLean received six departmental commendations, including three for

bravery Courage (also called bravery or valor) is the choice and willingness to confront agony, pain, danger, uncertainty, or intimidation. Valor is courage or bravery, especially in battle. Physical courage is bravery in the face of physical pain, h ...

and

heroism A hero (feminine: heroine) is a real person or a main fictional character who, in the face of danger, combats adversity through feats of ingenuity, courage, or strength. Like other formerly gender-specific terms (like ''actor''), ''her ...

. In January 2006, new Mayor

, who had been elected in 2005, appointed MacLean as the new Police Chief of Allentown, replacing outgoing Chief Joseph Blackburn. MacLean was a 31-year veteran of the police force at the time. MacLean retired as police chief of Allentown on September 6, 2013 after four decades with the police force. Assistant Police Chief Joseph Hanna was named interim Police Chief until a permanent replacement for MacLean could be appointed. On September 16, 2013, just days after his retirement from the Allentown Police Department, MacLean began a new job as the chief investigator of the Lehigh County Regional Intelligence and Investigation Center (RIIC).

Political career

In 2014, MacLean switched his party affiliation from

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

to Democratic just before applying for a vacancy on the Allentown City Council. However, another candidate was selected to fill the vacant city council seat instead of MacLean. One year later, MacLean was elected to the Allentown City Council by defeating incumbent councilman Joe Davis in the 2015 election. In 2016, MacLean voted a against a budget resolution, saying it increased Allentown's existing

budget deficit Within the budgetary process, deficit spending is the amount by which spending exceeds revenue over a particular period of time, also called simply deficit, or budget deficit; the opposite of budget surplus. The term may be applied to the budget ...

. He was also one of just two council members who opposed a new city

stormwater Stormwater, also spelled storm water, is water that originates from precipitation (storm), including heavy rain and meltwater from hail and snow. Stormwater can soak into the soil ( infiltrate) and become groundwater, be stored on depressed la ...

fee. Following the 2017 indictment of Mayor

on 54 pay-to-play charges, MacLean broke with his city council colleagues to oppose a resolution which urged federal investigator to speed up their investigation of Pawlowski. MacLean also voted against a proposal to hire an attorney to consult on potentially removing Mayor Pawlowski from office. Though he voted against these proposals, MacLean and Pawlowski had a strained relationship dating back to his tenure as police chief. On January 2, 2018, MacLean was unanimously elected President of the Allentown City Council by its members. The leadership role on the city council meant that MacLean would become acting mayor in the event that Allentown Mayor Ed Pawlowski resigned or was removed from office. MacLean's election as city council president came just weeks before Mayor Pawlowski was scheduled to go on trial, starting January 16, 2018, on 54 pay-to-play charges. On March 1, 2018, Mayor Ed Pawlowski was convicted on 47 of the 54 charges related to pay-to-play scheme he operated from office. Pawloski's convictions, all felonies, included conspiracy, as well as multiple counts of

bribery Bribery is the Offer and acceptance, offering, Gift, giving, Offer and acceptance, receiving, or Solicitation, soliciting of any item of value to influence the actions of an official, or other person, in charge of a public or legal duty. With reg ...

, attempted

extortion Extortion is the practice of obtaining benefit through coercion. In most jurisdictions it is likely to constitute a criminal offence; the bulk of this article deals with such cases. Robbery is the simplest and most common form of extortion, ...

, making false statements to federal officials,

honest services fraud Honest services fraud is a crime defined in (the federal mail and wire fraud statute), added by the United States Congress in 1988, which states "For the purposes of this chapter, the term ''scheme or artifice to defraud'' includes a scheme or ...

mail fraud Mail fraud and wire fraud are terms used in the United States to describe the use of a physical or electronic mail system to defraud another, and are federal crimes there. Jurisdiction is claimed by the federal government if the illegal activit ...

, and

wire fraud Mail fraud and wire fraud are terms used in the United States to describe the use of a physical or electronic mail system to fraud, defraud another, and are Federal crime in the United States, federal crimes there. Jurisdiction is claimed by the ...

. Pawloski resigned from office on Thursday, March 9, 2018. In accordance with the city's home charter rule, MacLean became acting Mayor of Allentown on March 9 upon Pawlowski's resignation. MacLean served as acting mayor until March 29, 2018, when Pawlowski's permanent successor,

Ray O'Connell Ray O'Connell is an American politician who served as the 42nd Mayor of Allentown, Pennsylvania. He assumed the office on March 29, 2018 following the resignation of former mayor Ed Pawlowski. O'Connell was selected to serve as mayor by the Al ...

, was chosen. O'Connell will serve until the 2019 mayoral election.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:MacLean, Roger Living people Mayors of Allentown, Pennsylvania Pennsylvania city council members American municipal police chiefs Pennsylvania Democrats DeSales University alumni Year of birth missing (living people)