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donice
Member
54 Posts |
 Posted - 05/06/2007 : 12:35:19 AM
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Everett audit finds $5m in violations
'Public was taken,' city's mayor says
By Katheleen Conti, Globe Staff | April 24, 2007
EVERETT -- An independent audit of city departments released to the public last night revealed wide-ranging purchasing violations totaling $5 million, specifically involving three Everett companies contracted for multiple projects.
The findings had earlier prompted Mayor John Hanlon to fire the purchasing agent, John Garron; the director of the City Services department, Al Borgonzi; and the supervisor of the water office, Glen Garbati.
Hanlon said he issued indefinite suspensions without pay to five other city employees whose actions resulted in oversights that led to procurement violations.
"Real money is gone, oversight was missing, and the public was taken," Hanlon said last night at a special joint meeting of the Everett's Board of Aldermen and Common Council.
Melanson Heath & Co. performed the audit at the request of the state inspector general's office, which had been contacted by Hanlon's administration last year over inconsistencies in invoices of certain contractors dating back 6 1/2 years.
In their review of contracts, Melanson Heath executives said, "The lack of bid documentation available for inspection is alarming."
According to the audit, the three contractors that have done some work for the city that Everett officials cannot corroborate are J. Marchese & Sons Inc., GTA Landscaping Inc., and Everett Supply Co. Everett officials could not locate bid documents for "nearly all" of the J. Marchese awards, including the Everett Square beautification project costing more than $100,000; more than $200,000 for the reconstruction of sidewalks; and Mt. Washington St. improvements in excess of $300,000.
Last summer, the city's new chief procurement officer, Joseph P. Pedulla, became concerned with the volume of business the city did with Everett Supply without contracts or bids, the audit stated. When he refused to approve purchase orders related to Everett Supply, he became aware they were being approved by another employee, Bevely Dorman, the city's internal auditor. Dorman was one of the five suspended.
Results of the audit came three years after an investigation by the attorney general's and inspector general's offices of the Everett School Department found that 63 contracts, worth more than $552,000, had been obtained through a bid-rigging scheme.
The state inspector general's office, US attorney's office, and other authorities are also investigating.
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Court4Fred
Advanced Member
1201 Posts |
Posted - 05/06/2007 : 4:38:08 PM
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Thank you, Donise for printing this. This is exactly why everyone thinks there's 5 million bucks missing. There are lies, damn lies - and then there's the BS that Mayor Hanlon fed the press to imply that vendors and employees were colluding to make sure that "real money is gone."
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massdee
Moderator
5299 Posts |
Posted - 05/07/2007 : 5:20:19 PM
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| I agree. |
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Stella
Member
5 Posts |
Posted - 05/07/2007 : 9:05:35 PM
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why not Joe Blow? Go back to Idaho.
Stella Rose |
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n/a
deleted
13 Posts |
Posted - 05/07/2007 : 10:20:20 PM
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JOE BLOWS.... BYE NOW... I SAID MY PEACE I WILL DISAPPEAR NOW. I AM GONNA TAKE MY FRIEND WITH ME.
I know everything Fancy |
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lies on videotape for all to see
