Two high-level employees and a former official of the city’s Department of Correction have agreed to pay fines and forfeit vacation days for using their official vehicles on personal errands and vacations, it was announced Thursday.
One of the employees, Deputy Commissioner Timothy Farrell, lives in the city and used his city-issued vehicle for weekend trips to a family home in Connecticut on at least 14 occasions in 2016, according to the Conflicts of Interest Board.
In a joint settlement with the board and the DOC, he paid a $2,250 fine and forfeited five vacation days, valued at $3,756.
He also had to reimburse taxpayers for mileage, bringing the total penalties to $7,387.97.
Assistant Chief Clayton Augustus, who has since retired, made 11 personal trips outside of his normal commute, mostly to Monticello from his home in Orange County. He was hit with a $4,000 fine.
Warden Helena Smith used her official vehicle nine times for personal trips, including six trips to city airports and one to a doctor’s office.
She reimbursed the DOC $87.80 for the mileage, gave up seven days of comp time and paid a $500 fine, bringing the value of her total penalties to $5,367.54.
Many DOC employees are assigned city-issued cars — but they’re not supposed to be used for non-official business.
Dozens of Correction Department employees have been cited for ignoring that regulation after a damning Department of Investigation report last year revealed flagrant misuse, including by then-Commissioner Joseph Ponte.
Ponte regularly took his official car to Maine.
Investigators discovered “a top-down practice” that involved 20 other DOC employees, including several high-ranking officials.
Staffers traveled all over the East Coast, charging taxpayers for trips to the Mohegan Sun Casino, Niagara Falls, the Poconos and outlet malls. The DOI determined the combined cost of the misuse of city resources to be over $20,000.
Ponte and other staffers claimed they were unaware they weren’t allowed to use their city cars for personal purposes and the DOC called the scandal “a misunderstanding.”
