A Department of Corrections bigwig admitted he used a government car on 118 days for “personal errands” and to commute to his house in the suburbs, officials said Wednesday.
Lawrence McGugins leads misconduct probes as head of the DOC’s Special Investigations Unit but his own misconduct will force him to fork over $5,200 in fines and reimbursements after racking up tolls on the taxpayers’ dime, the city’s Conflicts of Interest board said in a news release.
McGugins used a government “pool” car for part of his commute between work and home in Mount Vernon and to run errands in Queens and Manhattan — zipping through 257 E-ZPass tolls that cost city taxpayers $1,234.81 between January 2023 and February 2024, the board said.
DOC’s Special Investigations Unit head Lawrence McGugins used a government car for part of his commute to and from home 118 times, the NYC Conflicts of Interest Board stated. linkedin/Lawrence McGuginsHe would park the pool vehicle — which is shared by staffers — at an NYPD lot in the Bronx and then jump in his personal car to get back to his Mount Vernon home, he admitted in a settlement with the board.
He then would drive back to that NYPD parking lot from his home in his personal ride and use the DOC car to take him the rest of the way to work — leaving the car unavailable to other employees who might need it, according to the settlement.
He kept the vehicle in the Bronx to avoid triggering the vehicle’s GPS alert that would have gone off if he crossed into Westchester County, the board stated.
He also used the vehicle on two days to go to places in Long Island City, Flushing and Manhattan, according to the settlement.
McGugins, who has led the Special Investigations Unit since October 2022, agreed to pay back the E-ZPass charges and fork over another $4,000 fine.
McGugins will have to pay more than $5,200 in fines for his expenses on taxpayer dollars. TNSMcGugins signed a resolution admitting to the misconduct, claiming he believed the DOC car was so he could visit employees under investigation and other correctional locations.
“At all relevant times, I erroneously believed I was assigned a DOC vehicle to perform these tasks,” McGugins wrote.
“I now acknowledge the vehicle was for shared use. I acknowledge I was not authorized to use a DOC vehicle to commute.”
The government-issued car was used across Queens and Manhattan from January 2023 to February 2024, which resulted in the city losing $1,234.81 during that timeframe. Getty ImagesThe gallivanting public servant previously worked as a senior principal investigator the MTA Inspector General’s Office and supervising investigator for the city’s Department of Investigation, according to his LinkedIn profile.
A lawyer representing McGugins did not immediately return a message seeking comment.
The DOC referred comment to the Conflicts of Interest Board.
