No criminal charges to be filed in Norfolk no-show case

NORFOLK

No one will be charged with criminal wrongdoing in the case of a Community Services Board employee who collected $320,000 in pay and benefits over 12 years but did not show up for work.

"This office will not initiate criminal charges in the matter," Commonwealth's Attorney Greg Underwood wrote in a short letter hand-delivered to acting Police Chief Sharon Chamberlin on Wednesday evening.

"While the detailed and in-depth criminal investigation by the Norfolk Police Department does raise questions about prior management operations of the NCSB," he wrote, "the evidence obtained does not support pursuing a criminal prosecution against Jill McGlone or any NCSB employee."

McGlone was suspended from the Community Services Board in 1998 but continued to be paid until May 2010, when her status was discovered by Maureen Womack, the agency's executive director, city officials have said.

Womack fired or forced out five employees because of the scandal, which she said she discovered during a routine review of the agency's personnel roster. At the time, Womack had been in her position for about 18 months.

CSB and city officials have said they have no idea why McGlone was paid. Underwood did not address the subject in his letter. When asked whether investigators discovered why McGlone was paid, Amanda Howie, a spokeswoman for Underwood, said "the letter speaks for itself."

Mayor Paul Fraim also declined to comment, saying to do so about a criminal investigation would be "inappropriate."

Others expressed frustration that more than a year after the no-show worker was discovered, the question of why she was paid remains unanswered.

City Councilman Tommy Smigiel said he is certain that Underwood would have prosecuted if there was enough evidence.

"But I find it hard to believe there was no fraud involved, that there was no criminal wrongdoing," he said.

"People just aren't talking. It's very frustrating."

City Manager Marcus Jones did not return a phone call made to his office Wednesday evening.

With an annual budget of $24 million, the CSB provides thousands of the city's poorest residents with psychiatric and drug abuse services.

Womack said that after discovering McGlone's status, she informed the agency's board of directors and City Attorney Bernard Pishko, whose office provides legal advice to the CSB. Pishko conducted a four-month investigation that resulted in a handful of employees being forced out.

CSB officials contend that McGlone was suspended in April 1998 because she was accused of bringing a weapon onto agency property. While on suspension, a woman named Toni Rae Harris sued McGlone and the CSB, saying McGlone had disclosed confidential medical information about her.

Harris, who has died, dropped the lawsuit in 2000. The attorney for Brenda Wise, the agency's former director of administration, has said that McGlone's suspension was a systemic failure "that got lost in the administrative shuffle."

Howie said Underwood was unaware of Pishko's investigation into the no-show worker until he read about it Aug. 26 in The Virginian-Pilot. A police investigation was requested by the city on Sept. 8, Howie said.

According to two sources familiar with the investigation, Womack told the police that information appeared to have been removed from a CSB file kept on McGlone. The sources asked not to be identified because they are unauthorized to speak.

Womack declined to comment when contacted by email. McGlone could not be reached.

Councilman Andy Protogyrou, a defense attorney, said civil lawsuits may eventually reveal why McGlone was paid.

"Depositions are being taken," he said. "Hopefully, we will learn why this happened."

Three of the employees fired or forced to resign - Anthony Crisp, Linda Berardi and Laurie Paquin - have filed defamation lawsuits against Womack and the CSB. They say they repeatedly asked about McGlone's status.

Fraim's law firm has been hired by Scottsdale Insurance, which provides liability insurance to the agency, to defend the agency in the three lawsuits.

Pishko's office has sued Crisp, Berardi, Wise, former CSB director George Pratt and McGlone on behalf of the CSB, seeking repayment of the money McGlone received.

In a response to the CSB's lawsuit against her, McGlone said in a court document that she was not allowed to return to work, even after Wise told her she would be reinstated.

"It was Wise who assured McGlone that everything... was in order and Wise told McGlone to fill out the necessary paperwork to receive her benefits and wages," McGlone's response says. "McGlone then took it upon herself to try and return to the job."

The Norfolk office of the FBI has investigated but would not say whether its work is complete.

"We would decline to comment, just following standard Department of Justice policy," Peter Carr of the U.S. attorney's office said.

Although the CSB is appointed by the City Council and the city handles its payroll and Pishko's office provides legal advice, technically it is not a part of city government. City Manager Jones has established a committee to determine whether it should be brought under city control.

Fraim believes it should.

"The issue here is that the city needs to gain greater control," he said.

Smigiel said regardless of the agency's current status, "Ultimately, this is our responsibility, because we appoint the CSB board.

"We need to be held accountable."

Harry Minium, (757) 446-2371, harry.minium@pilotonline.com

Patrick Wilson, (757) 222-3893, patrick.wilson@pilotonline.com