Five in Norfolk fired or forced out over no-show worker

NORFOLK

Four Community Services Board executives and an assistant who knew an employee was collecting a salary with benefits for 12 years without showing up for work have been fired or forced to resign, the head of the agency said Friday.

The agency is turning over its findings to the FBI, state and city police for their investigations, CSB Executive Director Maureen Womack said. The agency found no evidence that other staffers collected any of the money Jill McGlone received, Womack said.

No additional firings are expected for now. Depending on additional evidence found by law enforcement agents, there could be criminal charges or civil suits to recover the salary paid to McGlone, the employee, Womack said. McGlone's latest salary was $29,000 a year.

Womack said she fired Brenda Wise, the director of administration, who made about $108,000 a year, and Laurie Paquin, who had made about $41,000 and served as the former executive assistant to George Pratt, the agency's immediate past executive director who retired. Paquin had also served as Womack's assistant.

Womack requested and received resignations from Linda Berardi, a human resources officer whose salary was about $92,000; Anthony Crisp, director of clinical services, who made about $108,000; and Suzanne Williams, chief financial officer.

Williams was not listed in an employee database with salaries that The Virginian-Pilot obtained from the agency through a Virginia Freedom of Information Act request. Womack said she was not sure what Williams' salary had been.

Wise worked at the agency for 37 years, Womack said, and the others were employed there between 15 and 20 years.

The CSB executive director said that as she was checking personnel sheets, she realized that she had never met or heard of McGlone. When she asked supervisors to confirm McGlone's employment, she was told of McGlone's no-show status.

Womack said that over the 12 years, someone in the agency filled out time sheets for McGlone indicating hours that she had worked. Deputy City Attorney Jack Cloud said he would not identify that individual.

McGlone's salary rose over the dozen years because of cost-of-living increases and across-the-board wage hikes, Womack said. No employee evaluations for McGlone were conducted, but McGlone was enrolled annually for employee benefits, Womack said.

McGlone had worked at the agency for 12 years as an office assistant before she was involved in a personnel investigation, Womack said. At that time, she was put on leave with pay and stopped coming to work, yet her salary continued.

"I know this sounds incredible," Womack said Friday.

The executive director said she has no idea why McGlone kept being paid and why senior employees who knew about it did nothing.

The city attorney's office led the investigation, which started in June. Employees who were questioned sometimes gave conflicting information, and some "are not telling the whole truth," Cloud said.

The city attorney's office also interviewed the agency's former executive director. Pratt "has not really cooperated" in the investigation, and when questioned, he sometimes said he couldn't remember, Cloud said.

Pratt declined to comment when reached at his home. However, he told The Pilot earlier this week that he was not familiar with McGlone and couldn't imagine how she could be paid for no work.

Womack said the five staffers who were let go were embarrassed when confronted with their knowledge about McGlone.

"I think it was an egregious error in judgment... by some good people," Womack said.

McGlone declined to comment when reached at her home.

Paquin said she didn't know anything about McGlone's actions.

Crisp said he is an ethical person. "I did what I thought I needed to do," he said.

Berardi and Williams could not be reached.

Since Womack's discovery of the phantom employee, all CSB staffers have received training and were required to take a test on mandatory reporting and corporate compliance, she said.

As a recipient of public funding, the agency's staff are required to report knowledge or suspicion of malfeasance within the organization, she said.

That requirement is part of the agency's policies, she said.

Responsibilities will be redistributed within the agency's management to emphasize increased internal controls.

The agency also recently installed a special telephone number - 866-839-1229 - for staff to report internal wrongdoing confidentially. The phone line is managed by an independent company, Global Alliance.

The CSB is "determined to hold accountable those responsible for this waste of public funds," said Lewis Taylor, the board's chair, who attended the news conference with Womack.

The CSB is not a municipal agency but an independent organization that oversees mental health and substance abuse prevention, treatment and rehabilitation services for roughly 6,000 of Norfolk's poorest residents.

Approximately 300 employees work at the agency. Its nearly $24 million budget comes from the city, state and federal governments. However, its governing board, which hired Womack in early 2009, is appointed by the City Council.

Councilman Barclay C. Winn said the firings "sent a message."

"These are people who either did or should have known," Winn said. "They needed to go."

Pilot writers Meghan Hoyer and Cheryl Ross contributed to this report.

Steven G. Vegh, (757) 446-2417, steven.vegh@pilotonline.com