Ragucci defends Everett workers
By Patrick Blais
Published on April 25th, 2007 in the Stoneham Independent paper
STONEHAM, MA -Stoneham Town Administrator David Ragucci defended several former City of Everett co-workers either suspended or fired in that municipality this week after a forensic audit allegedly revealed more than $5 million worth of bidding irregularities.
According to the audit, released this Monday night in Everett City Hall by Mayor John Hanlon, the financial review unveiled a series of violations of state bidding procedures, including no-bid contracts, double or over payments for work performed, and instances of outright fraud.
"The lack of bid documentation available for inspection is alarming, particularly in light of the findings noted when documentation was available for inspection," the report concludes.
"The report documents clear violations of procurement laws and ordinances. There are also violations of contract terms, which places the City at risk for paying higher than market value prices," auditors furthered.
Ragucci, who served four terms as Everett's Mayor before being ousted by Hanlon in Nov. of 2005 during a hotly contested race, was not specifically mentioned in the 22-page document.
Hanlon, whose relationship with Ragucci is well-known throughout Everett to be cold at best, has reportedly since admitted that his predecessor is not the target of any investigation.
Since the release of the long-awaited forensic audit this Monday, which cost Everett's taxpayers $60,000, a least city employees have been suspended and three others have apparently been fired as a result of the investigation.
Many of the bidding irregularities and violations detailed in the forensic audit, performed by Andover accounting firm Melanson Heath & Co., date back to Ragucci's eight-year administration.
"I know I've done nothing wrong. And I'm very confident that the employees did nothing wrong," the Town Administrator responded Tuesday night, when asked for his response to the findings.
"I have breezed through portions of it, but to be completely honest, I've been concentrating on Stoneham's issues," Ragucci added. "But I will say this, not knowing all the details of the audit, the people I entrusted with the city's money I still trust."
According to the Town Administrator, who recalls being drawn to Stoneham to get away from the often divisive politics of his hometown, he suspects that the forensic audit was specifically engineered for political reasons.
Expanding on that gut feeling, Ragucci pointed to the fact that he hired the same Melanson Heath accounting firm to audit every major project that is now being labeled as riddled with instances of bidding irregularities and violations of state law.
The Everett resident further referred to numerous instances where the violations in question related to missing paperwork, which, according to the audit report, were included in file cabinets that were seized and locked-up at Hanlon's direction.
However, Ragucci insists, if the auditors were truly interested in locating those materials for the purpose of their work, they would have contacted state officials, who were sent copies of all documentation for large-scale city biding projects.
"When we finished projects in Everett [under my administration], I had them audited. And Melanson Heath did the audits of the same exact projects that they're now criticizing," the Town Administrator explained.
My Community Development Director tells me that the documents they were looking for all got copied to the state of Massachusetts," Ragucci furthered. "So I would suspect the audit was performed more for political reasons than out of concern for the city."
Also reached for comment on the recent City of Everett findings, Selectmen Paul Rotondi and John DePinto espoused their complete confidence in Stoneham's new Town Administrator.
According to both elected officials, they have seen no evidence that Ragucci guilty of any wrong-doing, and strongly believe in his managerial abilities based upon what he's accomplished in town to date.
"I'm not concerned. Whatever is going on in Everett is Everett's problem. As a matter of fact, I thought he was the best candidate for the job when we hired him, and after what I read today, I still think he is," said DePinto, himself a Certified Public Accountant.
"He hasn't given me any reason to question him," Rotondi remarked in a separate interview. "My biggest concern is that this doesn't take away from what he's doing here. That's my concern, because people can be quick to judge. He has done nothing but good things for Stoneham since he's been here."
According to the Town Administrator, other than perhaps a little more vigilance, the Everett findings will do little to change his management style, especially when it comes to overseeing the town's financial offices.
"In any community of any size, you have to trust people. Maybe I would exercise a little more oversight for some projects in Stoneham, but you have to trust the [managers you hire for the job]."
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Ragucci 's response to audit
Posted - 05/01/2007 : 10:09:23 PM
