Report: Maricopa County workers took gifts

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ARIZONA POLITICS

Report: Maricopa County workers took gifts

11 said to be influenced by vendors

44 commentsby Yvonne Wingett Sanchez - Dec. 11, 2011 10:03 PM
The Arizona Republic

Eleven Maricopa County employees may have violated county ethics policies and state law by accepting free tickets to concerts, sporting events and other gratuities from companies that contract with the county, according to an internal investigation obtained by The Arizona Republic.

All of the employees were placed on paid administrative leave last week; eight were issued pre-termination letters and three received pre-suspension letters. Most of the employees are covered by Merit rules and are scheduled for private pre-disciplinary meetings this week to help determine the accuracy of the investigation. One employee who was not Merit protected was fired, but county officials would not release his or her name.

Investigation into gifts

A spokesman for the County Attorney's Office said the investigation may lead to criminal charges.

The investigation began after a county worker, Rhys Williams, reported gift violations to a department supervisor in August. Kate Baker, an independent investigator who contracts with the county, reviewed the allegations.

Baker's investigation highlighted the cozy relationship that has developed between county employees and contractors and revealed a side of county practices that rarely draws scrutiny. The investigation concluded that employees have abused their positions by accepting gifts from contractors as payback for their business.

In one instance, a county worker is specifically accused of being influenced by gifts from a vendor. In another, an employee accepted gratuities from companies that were awarded tens of millions of dollars in public money for construction of the new court tower in downtown Phoenix. That project became the subject of failed corruption investigations by Sheriff Joe Arpaio and former County Attorney Andrew Thomas that focused on the relationships between judges, lawyers and politicians rather than the influential mid-level county employees who more often have day-to-day contact with vendors.

County Manager David Smith said he was "deeply disappointed" in the number of people who accepted freebies. He pointed out the investigation found that several employees refused gifts.

"It tended to make me think there was sort of an undercover culture where this was permissible," he said. "Obviously, we need to affirm that it was not. Policies were in place, training had been done ... and they still went out and did it."

Smith will meet today with employees in facilities management, the department where most of the violations occurred. He said top county officials are changing the way they oversee certain contracts with vendors, the county's ethics policy has been strengthened and county employees will be informed of the new policies.

Smith added, "I think there will be a vendor or two that might be barred from doing county business for a period of time."

Richard Carr, a manager in the Facilities Management Department who earns nearly $73,000 a year, was accused of the most egregious violations. He managed budgets andconstruction projects and throughout the years developed friendly relationships with vendors.

Last year, Carr went on a fishing trip with architects, attorneys and contractors to British Columbia, mostly at the expense of county vendors, the report said. The participants were helicoptered in. Carr paid for about 35 percent of the cost of the trip and likely got a $4,000 benefit, according to the investigation.

Over three years, Carr accepted as many as 20 tickets valued at more than $2,000 from Phoenix-based contractor Evans Overhead Door to see James Taylor, Neil Diamond and Paul McCartney. He attended a Diamondbacks baseball game with an architectural firm and went to a Suns game and spring-training games at the expense of other contractors.

The investigation said Carr also acted to favor Evans Overhead Door by allowing a representative to define the scope of a county project for which a contractor had not yet been selected and for which a scope of work had not yet been set. "Thus, it appears the gifts he accepted from Evans produced actual influence," the report said.

Evans has had contracts with the county for at least a decade.

Carr also got his son a job with Evans Overhead Door. The report said he later felt "bothered" by having done so. In early 2011, Carr stopped taking tickets and other gratuities after he received tickets to a patio party from one county vendor at the upscale Diamond Club at Chase Field. More than 100 people attended that party, including others who worked for the county.

"Carr's acceptance of a $4,000 trip from a vendor whose project he was overseeing at the time is wrong," Baker wrote in the report. "It creates the appearance of impropriety, and shows very poor judgment. He does not appear to have the necessary strength of character to resist the temptation of accepting significant benefits from vendors with whom he works."

The internal investigation concluded:

Rhys Williams, a Capital Facilities Division chief assistant, accepted tickets for himself, his wife and daughter from Carr to Eric Clapton, Paul McCartney and James Taylor concerts. He knew the tickets were paid for by Evans Overhead Door and knew it was wrong to take the tickets. Williams believed that Carr was favoring the company on a project, became concerned and eventually reported the gift violations.

Michelle McClintock was an administrative assistant until July 2010 with the county's Department of Transportation. She still works for the county. She received two tickets from Carr for the Evans Overhead Door skybox at Jobing.com Arena to a Tom Petty concert. She also saw Cirque du Soleil with her stepson and saw the Trans-Siberian Orchestra and Earth, Wind & Fire. She became "uneasy" about taking the tickets.

Janice Bowie, a capital-project manager, took a ticket to see Celine Dion from Carr and learned while at the concert that the ticket was paid for by Evans. Recently, she accepted a ticket to a patio party for a Diamondbacks game from Arrington Watkins, an architectural firm that was doing business with the county. In January 2010 and January 2011, she accepted tickets to the Waste Management Phoenix Open from GilbaneBuilding Co. and Ryan Cos., construction firms that worked on the court-tower project.

Michael Bregar, a budget analyst, accepted concert tickets for himself and his wife to seeCarole King and Bon Jovi from Carr, knowing they came from Evans. He didn't report the gifts because he feared disciplinary action.

Lynda Cull, a procurement officer, took tickets to a concert and took her daughter. Carr gave her the tickets, and she knew they came from Evans. She believes the tickets "changed hands so many times before reaching her that no obligation could be implied."

Art Jones, a technical specialist, accepted tickets to an Eric Clapton concert from Evans.

Robert Jones, a senior job-order contract supervisor, accepted a ticket three years ago for a spring-training game that was paid for by a county vendor. He also attended a Paul McCartney concert with tickets from Evans. Jones also solicited food and gifts for meetings.

Kurt Simmons, an electronic technician, accepted free tickets to a Coyotes hockey game that were paid for by Evans.

Dean Graham, an electronic technician, accepted tickets from Evans to a Paul McCartney concert. The gifts were a present for Graham's wife's birthday.

Michael Mahr accepted tickets for himself and his wife to the Trans-Siberian Orchestra from Evans.

Rob Evans, a partner with Evans Overhead Door, told The Republic on Friday he felt pressure by county employees to hand out tickets.

Evans said that years ago, he began donating tickets for his suite at Jobing.com arena to the county's Combined Charitable Campaign.

Over time, he said, individual employees began to approach him because they knew he had tickets.

"Once they knew you were in possession of a suite ... they would come and ask you for tickets -- that's the way it's always been," he said. "You feel like you're put on the spot. You almost feel like you're obligated to do it because they hire you to work. They'd run into you, call you. You feel like you get taken advantage of. It's kind of a catch-22. In your mind, you feel if you don't, there are so many politics downtown, you're always trying to do the right thing so people don't get upset."

Reach the reporter at yvonne.wingett@arizonarepublic.com or 602-444-4712.

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