Newport News Shipbuilding Employees Credit Union

Chesapeake Crime Line officer takes on new role

CHESAPEAKE

Gus Mojica answered the black phone on the wall in his office at police headquarters one recent afternoon.

"Hello, Chesapeake Crime Line. May I help you?"

A tipster claimed to know who had robbed the Chartway Federal Credit Union in Western Branch a day earlier.

"Where can we find him?" Mojica asked. "Who are his associates? What does he drive?"

Before hanging up, he assigned the tipster a number to use to check on the case and see whether the person will be eligible for a reward.

Up until June 15 - his last day as coordinator of the city's crime line - Mojica was still answering the old landline with no caller ID, helping people who wanted to help the police.

For five years, Mojica learned secrets people wouldn't share with police on the record. Like a caller who knew who had killed someone. Or who was dealing drugs.

Of the 253 tips that came in to the Chesapeake Crime Line last year, 36 led to arrests that covered 327 criminal charges and resulted in $800,000 in property and drugs seized, Mojica said.

His is the voice on the other end when people called 1-888-LOCK-U-UP in the city. The fact that Mojica was taking calls on his last day in that role would surprise few of those who worked with him. He has combined a strong work ethic with a dedication to the program that offers citizens the potential of a reward in return for a crime tip.

Now Mojica, an 18-year veteran of the department, has been transferred to patrol, a move in keeping with department practice that limits the time many employees can hold one position to five years.

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One of the most frequent questions payday lending opponents get from legislators about eliminating the industry is, “How will people using payday lenders get short-term loans?”

The industry argues that people will bounce checks, go to other states or turn to unregulated online payday lenders. But after North Carolina banned payday lenders last year, the state’s credit unions stepped up, and a new study from Virginia’s neighbor shows that residents didn’t miss the lenders or lose access to short-term credit.

In Hampton Roads, the lenders have now set up in every major shopping center in the busiest corridors as the industry has grown since 2002 into a $1 billion business in Virginia. As banks have resisted offering payday alternatives, citing other credit products they already offer, the three largest Peninsula credit unions have stepped up with successful programs.

The fight over possibly banning payday lending will be at the forefront of the Virginia General Assembly again in 2008. The payday industry and its supporters say they fulfill a short-term financial need shunned by mainstream lenders. But the local credit unions have discovered they can build loyalty and create long-term value by offering the loans to their customers at lower interest rates, along with financial counseling.

“We knew going in that this wasn’t going to be a money-making product, but would have a far-reaching effect,” said John Sargent, vice president of lending at 1st Advantage Federal Credit Union.

Bayport Credit Union, formerly Newport News Shipbuilding Employees’ Credit Union, launched an alternative to payday lending this spring. Langley Federal Credit Union has had a small loan program since 2004, and 1st Advantage started the small loans in 2006.

The credit unions charge about $5 for a $500 loan, rather than the 390 percent interest charge of $75 the payday lenders charge for a $500 two-week advance. None of the credit unions expect to make any money on the loans, but they do hope to break even and see it as a necessary service for members.

“There had been a rise with our members getting in trouble with payday loans, and we had to do something to help our members,” said George R. Dudley Jr., Bayport’s chief executive officer.

Credit unions are not-for-profits, and their customers are members who control the company and its board of directors. The three largest on the Peninsula can serve anyone in the region. Because their goal is helping members — whereas banks must maximize profits for shareholders — they can invest money in these payday programs.

Review of credit union tax exemption : hearing before the Committee on Ways and Means, U.S. House of Representatives, One Hundred Ninth Congress, first session, November 3, 2005.

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