The Virginian-Pilot
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NORFOLK
The former director, three former managers and the "no-show worker" who was paid during a still-unexplained 12-year suspension were sued by their former employer, the Community Services Board.
The lawsuit asks the defendants for a total of $319,784, the amount estimated to have been paid to Jill McGlone from the time she was suspended in 1998 until the current CSB director, Maureen Womack, learned of it last year and reported it.
The CSB is a public agency that oversees mental health and drug treatment.
Besides McGlone, the others named in the suit are former CSB Director George Pratt, former Director of Administration Brenda Wise, former Clinical Services Director Anthony Crisp and former Human Resources Officer Linda Berardi. The lawsuit was filed in Circuit Court and represents the CSB's and city attorney's take on the issue.
Since the no-show worker case was made public in August, Berardi, Crisp and another employee who since was forced out have filed defamation suits against Womack, arguing that they were not responsible for keeping McGlone on the payroll. McGlone's situation was being handled at a higher level and Wise told them it was not their concern, Berardi and Crisp have said.
It has never been made clear to the public why the CSB kept McGlone on paid suspension as an office assistant for well over a decade. City police and the FBI have investigated, and no criminal charges have been filed.
According to the CSB's lawsuit, the agency alleges Wise was "repeatedly reminded" that McGlone had been suspended and that Wise and Crisp knew McGlone had been accused of disclosing that a CSB client was HIV positive.
When McGlone was suspended in April 1998, Wise sent her a letter saying it was because she was accused of having a weapon on CSB property and would be on leave until the CSB finished an investigation. After McGlone left, a woman named Toni Rae Harris sued McGlone and the CSB, saying McGlone disclosed confidential medical information about her. The CSB's lawsuit said McGlone accessed Harris' records around June 1998 and told the mother of Harris' boyfriend that Harris had HIV.
Harris dropped her lawsuit in 2000. She's now deceased.
Despite two allegations of wrongdoing, the CSB kept McGlone on the payroll.
Pratt, the CSB director who retired in 2008, initially told news media he had no idea how the payments to McGlone could have continued, and he has stopped commenting publicly about it. Wise's attorney has said she did nothing wrong and that McGlone's suspension was a systemic failure that "got lost in the administrative shuffle."
McGlone has declined to be interviewed by The Virginian-Pilot, but she wrote letters in February to Womack and City Manager Marcus Jones saying she was wrongfully terminated by Womack, and complained that she had been denied unemployment benefits.
Kevin Martingayle, an attorney who represents Crisp and Berardi, reiterated Tuesday that he did not believe they did anything wrong. He questioned whether the Norfolk city attorney's office, which represents the CSB, followed up on McGlone's suspension after the Harris lawsuit was resolved.
"It seems strange to me that the Norfolk city attorney's office was involved in the defense of litigation where Jill McGlone was a party, and yet that same office has seemed to disclaim any knowledge about her employment status," Martingayle said.
"You would think that they would have given some suggested direction to the Norfolk CSB. And so far, I haven't heard any explanation of the (city attorney's) office role in handling the Jill McGlone situation."
In an email Tuesday night, City Attorney Bernard A. Pishko responded: "The city attorney's office did not know that Jill McGlone was suspended. Kevin Martingayle's clients did know and that is why they are the defendants. Martingayle's attempt at deflection is absurd."
After Womack, the current CSB director, reported that McGlone hadn't been to work in 12 years yet still was being paid, she and Jack Cloud, an assistant city attorney, investigated.
Their probe did not conclude why McGlone's suspension never was resolved, Cloud said last year.
Patrick Wilson, (757) 222-3893, patrick.wilson@pilotonline.com
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Document: CSB files suit against former workers
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One more question,
Was Ms. McGlone enrolled in a retirement plan such as VRS? If she gets to keep this money is she also eligable for a pension for NOT working?
That would just be the icing on this cake wouldn't it?
The way my mind works I truly believe
that McGlone has family members or friends that aided in this coverup for most, if not all, of the years she collected money for nothing. It wouldn't surprise me if when this investigation gets rolling that there will be new names comming out of the woodwork as accomplices to this fraud. Unless of course there is proof that every month that she received a check she tried to correct the "mistake". If that becomes fact then she should be entitled to every penny she was given while waiting a decision from the board. Then, unless anyone else is charged with knowingly commiting a criminal act, this whole mess should be looked at as an expensive learning experience. Just one more government mistake at the taxpayers expense.
i wonder....?
Do you think the same people that couldn't pass the "overtime" Test with the Virginia Beach (Finest) Police Department, now work for the board?
In this debate, it is
In this debate, it is important to consider the loss experienced by the mentally ill citizens of Norfolk, who depend on the CSB to increase their independence and quality of life, and for the many dedicated, under-compensated employees who put in long, difficult hours to try to make a difference in our community. My hope is this will soon be solved and that priorities will be reconsidered.
Throw the book at them
This thing desperately needs these folks under oath. No wonder they're all lawyered up. The idea that no one is really responsible is baloney.
What's next?
How can you hold these few people personally liable when acting in the public’s interest? What's next? I can sue the chief of police because the cops didn't arrive in time to thwart my house being robber? Or I can sue the fire station because they didn't put the fire out before it spread from my neighbor’s house to mine? McGlone received 12 years of payment for work she didn't do. Did she ever attempt to notify her employer about her status, attempt to give the money back, or even look for another job? In good conscious a decent person should have notified the city regarding the checks instead of milking the system for more than a decade. When the military gets over paid, we have to pay it back.
more relevant questions
Thanks for commenting. No one has publicly said whether or how Jill McGlone tried to resolve her situation. The burden to resolve it, however, was on the CSB, which told her to stay home until an investigation was complete. -Patrick Wilson, The Pilot.
re: so this explains the cuts?
Mr. Wilson, I appreciate the reporting although I am over it; but can't be for personal reasons. So with that said, does this explain the upcoming cuts that the City is releasing as a means to pay for all of this? Think about it: from the 12 year no show worker ($300,000) to no pay raises for three years for 300 employees (no telling how much that is but usually that's a 3% raise per worker; I say that of course with the exception of Ms. Womack's $32,000 of course; sounds fair right?) to the released information pertaining to the counseltants that Ms. Womack hired to fix these issues (totalling approx. $325,000)to lawsuits and counter suits. Its getting crazy. On top of that, they are still trying to hire new people. I give up.
all are accountable and should pay
Those who let it illegally go on in addtion to failing in their responsibilities to report it. That goes for the worker who received it. It is flat out wrong to recieve anything you know to be in error.
I consider it an act of governmental corruption and should be treated as such. Corruption (like other flailing countries around the world) needs to be dealt with swiftly and strongly. It's dangerous to our American way of of life, liberty and happiness.
They need to be made to pay it back. The example needs to be set for any potential future perpertrators.
That's our tax money that could've gone to other business that served to benefit the community.
I think it's a stunt
I agree that these ex-employees should have reported the situation - but if you've read many of the articles on this topic, some of them claim that they DID report it. Correct me if I'm wrong, but most of the people involved in the original incident(s) no longer work with CSB. Certainly the person who told McGlone to go home pending administrative review doesn't still work there. Those are the people responsible. None of those sued, to my understanding, were signing the checks that McGlone was cashing. And I bet none of them had the power to fire her. So how on earth can you claim that they owe the CSB the money?!? This is essentially the countersuit to their defamation claims, IMO.