The director of Auburn's Public Works department is not to blame for thousands of dollars of equipment reportedly taken by department employees, according to city officials.
Chet Susslin / The Citizen
Trucks fill up at the Public Works building in Auburn Thursday. City leaders say no workers will be reprimanded in the wake of revelations that some city employees in recent years used about $10,000 worth of city equipment for personal use.
Trucks fill up at the Public Works building in Auburn Thursday. City leaders say no workers will be reprimanded in the wake of revelations that some city employees in recent years used about $10,000 worth of city equipment for personal use.
And despite the fact that none of the department employees will be prosecuted or fired, measures have been taken to prevent future instances of theft, multiple officials said Thursday.
According to City Manager Mark Palesh, Public Works Superintendent Jerry DelFavero helped the city police department and county district attorney's office with the investigation to locate approximately $10,000 worth of city-owned equipment reportedly taken by workers for personal use.
Palesh also said Thursday that DelFavero, who has worked as superintendent for almost 10 years, is not responsible for incidents of theft he expects have spanned decades. There are just too many employees and not enough supervisors to keep tabs on everyone all the time, Palesh said.
“You can't be everywhere all the time,” Palesh said. “The span of authority for any supervisor is usually five to seven people. Jerry has far more than that.”
The department, which employs approximately 60 people, was subject to an internal investigation after city officials learned that multiple pieces of equipment such as chain saws, water meters, leaf blowers, generators and shovels had been taken by employees for personal use, according to Palesh.
In November, city management allowed a one-time amnesty through which employees could return the items without being fired or prosecuted. All of the items suspected missing were returned, as well as additional equipment, Palesh said.
Auburn Mayor Michael Quill said Thursday that considering the circumstances, he is satisfied with the way the city handled the issue. He would not comment further, stating that it is a legal and personnel matter.
Quill did say, however, that DelFavero has an “awesome responsibility” as a department head, and did not place any blame on him for theft in the department.
“As a former department head,” said Quill, who is the former fire chief, “I know it is impossible to be watching every employee every day.”
The issue of theft in the Department of Public Works dates back to before Palesh was city manager, Palesh said. There have not been proper measures in place to keep track of equipment, and the management structure has not allowed for proper supervision, he continued.
Palesh set up the amnesty in a manner keeping him from knowing who returned what. This way, everyone gets a clean slate and the taxpayers get their equipment back, he said.
The only result of litigation would have been punishing people, Palesh said.
“We save valuable employees, and we save the embarrassment of not only themselves but their families,” Palesh said. “Repentance has to be complete. That means forgetting about it.”
But the whole ordeal has had an effect on the public works department, DelFavero said. Morale has been hurt, as has the image of the whole department, he said.
DelFavero did all that was asked of him, including reporting any incident of missing items to management and the department, he said.
“I don't feel good about any of this,” DelFavero said. “It's been a long process.”
Along with returning the tools to the inventory, the city is taking measures to keep better track of equipment in the department. There will be a complete inventory of equipment, Palesh said, including items costing under $500, which were not previously recorded. A new system will be implemented where all equipment will be tagged and checked out through the clerk's office.
Perhaps most importantly, city management and law enforcement stated that any instance of theft from here on out will not be tolerated.
“If anything happens in the future, we want to know the names and we will prosecute,” Palesh said.
Not every city official was so sure the amnesty was the best course of action, however. City Councilor Matthew Smith said Thursday that he went along with the concept because the investigators said there is likely not enough evidence to convict.
Ideally, he continued, all those involved would be prosecuted.
“At least we did get the equipment that we know of back,” Smith said. “But those actions still took place, and they were left unpunished.”
During the summer, former Deputy City Clerk Michele Godfrey was arrested and fired after being accused of falsifying time sheets and mileage records. She was charged with the misdemeanor of second-degree falsifying business at the time, and prosecutors are seeking approximately $50 in restitution.
Godfrey's criminal case and a civil service appeal are still being mitigated, according to officials.
“I think this definitely shows there is a double standard,” said Smith, who added that he is “still not a fan” of how that situation was handled, either.
But Smith also agreed with other officials that DelFavero acted in good faith and should not be blamed for this. Instead, he leveled the blame at everyone in the system - including himself.
“There is enough blame to go around, and I could have been more persistent about the investigation,” Smith said.
Before the amnesty was offered, public works employees were gathered in a room and told by Auburn Police Chief Gary Giannotta and Cayuga County District Attorney Jon Budelmann that anyone who had items after a week would be prosecuted, according to city officials.
Local law enforcement officials claim the prosecution and litigation process would be long and costly, as such matters are difficult to prove.
“It would take a lot of work and a lot of resources to move it forward with not a lot of evidence,” Budelmann said Thursday. “This way we can avoid litigation ... and (avoid) the amount of money and time it would take to litigate and get rid of union employees.”
Giannotta agreed, saying that a lot of the evidence was based on rumor and hearsay.
“We thought this was the best way to go about it,” Giannotta said. “If, in the future, anything like this happens, people are going to get arrested.
Despite the strong words, a concerted effort was made at city hall to keep the amnesty under wraps, with multiple city officials denying any investigation just after it took place. In December, Giannotta said no investigation was under way when questioned by The Citizen about such rumors.
“At the time, I couldn't comment on it,” he said Thursday in reference to his prior comments.
Palesh also said in December that no investigation had taken place, and that anyone caught stealing from the city would be prosecuted.
He defended Thursday his decision not to reveal the investigation.
“Why would we want to do that?” Palesh said. “The whole effort was to put it behind us. We would never get this kind of cooperation in the future if we did that.”
Staff writer Christopher Caskey can be reached at 253-5311 or christopher.caskey@lee.net.
According to City Manager Mark Palesh, Public Works Superintendent Jerry DelFavero helped the city police department and county district attorney's office with the investigation to locate approximately $10,000 worth of city-owned equipment reportedly taken by workers for personal use.
Palesh also said Thursday that DelFavero, who has worked as superintendent for almost 10 years, is not responsible for incidents of theft he expects have spanned decades. There are just too many employees and not enough supervisors to keep tabs on everyone all the time, Palesh said.
“You can't be everywhere all the time,” Palesh said. “The span of authority for any supervisor is usually five to seven people. Jerry has far more than that.”
The department, which employs approximately 60 people, was subject to an internal investigation after city officials learned that multiple pieces of equipment such as chain saws, water meters, leaf blowers, generators and shovels had been taken by employees for personal use, according to Palesh.
In November, city management allowed a one-time amnesty through which employees could return the items without being fired or prosecuted. All of the items suspected missing were returned, as well as additional equipment, Palesh said.
Auburn Mayor Michael Quill said Thursday that considering the circumstances, he is satisfied with the way the city handled the issue. He would not comment further, stating that it is a legal and personnel matter.
Quill did say, however, that DelFavero has an “awesome responsibility” as a department head, and did not place any blame on him for theft in the department.
“As a former department head,” said Quill, who is the former fire chief, “I know it is impossible to be watching every employee every day.”
The issue of theft in the Department of Public Works dates back to before Palesh was city manager, Palesh said. There have not been proper measures in place to keep track of equipment, and the management structure has not allowed for proper supervision, he continued.
Palesh set up the amnesty in a manner keeping him from knowing who returned what. This way, everyone gets a clean slate and the taxpayers get their equipment back, he said.
The only result of litigation would have been punishing people, Palesh said.
“We save valuable employees, and we save the embarrassment of not only themselves but their families,” Palesh said. “Repentance has to be complete. That means forgetting about it.”
But the whole ordeal has had an effect on the public works department, DelFavero said. Morale has been hurt, as has the image of the whole department, he said.
DelFavero did all that was asked of him, including reporting any incident of missing items to management and the department, he said.
“I don't feel good about any of this,” DelFavero said. “It's been a long process.”
Along with returning the tools to the inventory, the city is taking measures to keep better track of equipment in the department. There will be a complete inventory of equipment, Palesh said, including items costing under $500, which were not previously recorded. A new system will be implemented where all equipment will be tagged and checked out through the clerk's office.
Perhaps most importantly, city management and law enforcement stated that any instance of theft from here on out will not be tolerated.
“If anything happens in the future, we want to know the names and we will prosecute,” Palesh said.
Not every city official was so sure the amnesty was the best course of action, however. City Councilor Matthew Smith said Thursday that he went along with the concept because the investigators said there is likely not enough evidence to convict.
Ideally, he continued, all those involved would be prosecuted.
“At least we did get the equipment that we know of back,” Smith said. “But those actions still took place, and they were left unpunished.”
During the summer, former Deputy City Clerk Michele Godfrey was arrested and fired after being accused of falsifying time sheets and mileage records. She was charged with the misdemeanor of second-degree falsifying business at the time, and prosecutors are seeking approximately $50 in restitution.
Godfrey's criminal case and a civil service appeal are still being mitigated, according to officials.
“I think this definitely shows there is a double standard,” said Smith, who added that he is “still not a fan” of how that situation was handled, either.
But Smith also agreed with other officials that DelFavero acted in good faith and should not be blamed for this. Instead, he leveled the blame at everyone in the system - including himself.
“There is enough blame to go around, and I could have been more persistent about the investigation,” Smith said.
Before the amnesty was offered, public works employees were gathered in a room and told by Auburn Police Chief Gary Giannotta and Cayuga County District Attorney Jon Budelmann that anyone who had items after a week would be prosecuted, according to city officials.
Local law enforcement officials claim the prosecution and litigation process would be long and costly, as such matters are difficult to prove.
“It would take a lot of work and a lot of resources to move it forward with not a lot of evidence,” Budelmann said Thursday. “This way we can avoid litigation ... and (avoid) the amount of money and time it would take to litigate and get rid of union employees.”
Giannotta agreed, saying that a lot of the evidence was based on rumor and hearsay.
“We thought this was the best way to go about it,” Giannotta said. “If, in the future, anything like this happens, people are going to get arrested.
Despite the strong words, a concerted effort was made at city hall to keep the amnesty under wraps, with multiple city officials denying any investigation just after it took place. In December, Giannotta said no investigation was under way when questioned by The Citizen about such rumors.
“At the time, I couldn't comment on it,” he said Thursday in reference to his prior comments.
Palesh also said in December that no investigation had taken place, and that anyone caught stealing from the city would be prosecuted.
He defended Thursday his decision not to reveal the investigation.
“Why would we want to do that?” Palesh said. “The whole effort was to put it behind us. We would never get this kind of cooperation in the future if we did that.”
Staff writer Christopher Caskey can be reached at 253-5311 or christopher.caskey@lee.net.
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Post your comment - click hereThere are 17 comment(s)
blueyankee443 wrote on Jan 10, 2009 12:25 AM:
that the city is on their toes and know
the thefts are happening.The police are
eager to arrest,and the Attorney needs
a thong of people to give him something
to do,and to make new criminals.How muc
h do the City,and County Officials stea
l not only in time but,all these meetin
gs in far away cities and countries,in
the name of Seminars.You arrest the emp
loyees and let the big professionals do
their laughing,while their jobs are sti
ll intact. Good Deal!! "
theking wrote on Jan 9, 2009 8:24 PM:
lumpyguitar wrote on Jan 9, 2009 5:04 PM:
Who's going to pay for damages? Ooops! Insurance rightoff! And all you lying thieves keep your jobs...when the sad and HONEST employees at P&C lose their jobs. "
Yoker wrote on Jan 9, 2009 4:59 PM:
bill balyszak wrote on Jan 9, 2009 4:22 PM:
The Truth wrote on Jan 9, 2009 1:55 PM:
Try placing some GPS tags on certain items ...
This is just like allowing illegal immigrants amnesty .. "
afterthought wrote on Jan 9, 2009 1:20 PM:
We waste thousands on an investigation, and how do we know if we get everything stolen returned and in good order. We don't. Ok civil employees in this tough economy steal what you will, sell it, then there is no record or evidence, you get a pay boost in tough times and the tax payers will gladly pay fo it all. Of course they have no say in the matter, do they? "
ethan wrote on Jan 9, 2009 1:18 PM:
gman wrote on Jan 9, 2009 12:49 PM:
canalwoman wrote on Jan 9, 2009 9:34 AM:
Marsha wrote on Jan 9, 2009 9:23 AM:
nature lover wrote on Jan 9, 2009 8:49 AM:
union wrote on Jan 9, 2009 8:25 AM:
movedsouth wrote on Jan 9, 2009 7:57 AM:
The only result of litigation would have been punishing people, Palesh said." ya think! WATER METERS, let's see, it's more cost effective for me to have the water run through this SPARE meter than my billed meter. Sounds like theft of service. "
Farmer's Gal wrote on Jan 9, 2009 7:02 AM:
Farmer's Gal wrote on Jan 9, 2009 7:00 AM:
Any job where I worked, if someone stole something as big as a chainsaw or a leaf blower, they would have been fired and lucky not to be prosecuted. It's not like they stole a stamp to send a letter to their old granny. Looks like the employees at Public Works viewed the freebies they stole as a perk of the job at the taxpayers' expense.
They need to get over it and be grateful they weren't all fired and/or prosecuted. "
Northender wrote on Jan 9, 2009 4:53 AM: