Monday, March 8, 2010

Inspector General

Has just wrapped up his work on the case of sex offender who stayed on the city payroll while serving time for sexually abusing a minor.
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10 comments:

Cham said...

They keep telling us this case is being "investigated". But they aren't mentioning that anyone's head is going to roll or people are going to be suspended without pay. I say they are going to proclaim there will be a change in "policy" and life will go on as it has before. The only difference is that someone will be paid overtime and be given a bonus for conducting the investigation. SSDD

Mon Mar 08, 09:06:00 PM EST
iv1 said...

As the person who broke this story and has reported extensively on it I agree. Even though payroll fraud is a crime, I think that is exactly what is going to happen.

Tue Mar 09, 09:34:00 AM EST
buzoncrime said...

We hope that the head of DPW, Mr.-Scott, does the right thing and fires the employee as well as whoever was covering for him. Can you imagine that creepy guy going into people's houses?

Ultimately, discipline in the Department of Public Works, just like in the Police Department, is the responsibility of the department head--who reports to the Mayor where the buck stops. However, civil service employees are difficult to fire without a preponderance of evidence, since they're entitled to a hearing.
My guess is that their systems and records are so sloppy that it will be difficult to prove anything except for the suspended employee himself. But, let's withhold judgment; I'm sure they're "busy" with important things in the Inspector General's office, and they'll be issuing a report--eventually.
iv1---thanks for breaking this story! Keep up the good work in the lost art of Journalism!

The State's Attorney's office of Economic Crimes generally won't touch cases unless the evidence is pretty overwhelming.

Tue Mar 09, 03:14:00 PM EST
ppatin said...

"The State's Attorney's office of Economic Crimes generally won't touch cases unless the evidence is pretty overwhelming."

Is this the sort of corruption that the State Prosecutor might have jurisdiction over? Seems like Mr. Rorbaugh might have some more spare time on his hands now that he's done with the Dixon case.

Tue Mar 09, 04:04:00 PM EST
buzoncrime said...

Well, seriously, I don't really know the exact answer to that question, but I expect it goes something like this: the SAO deals with plain ole stealin'-stealing by your (once) trusted employee; the Office of the Special Prosecutor is only interested in stealin' for purposes of political corruption, as opposed to personal corruption.

By the way, lost in all the hysteria over the former Mayor's gift card fiasco was the one fact looming: developers do have far too much influence (and one could argue many types of businesses) with the folks at city hall. One really wonders, after all is said and done, about those tax breaks, tax deferments, grants, loans, and all that other good stuff: do these folks who get all those good things ever make good on their promises to bring jobs and economic development--and do they ever pay taxes on their properties? And if so, how much?
And I know the city is so desperate to get anybody to come in and do anything to make the city "vibrant", but ya gotta wonder if they sometimes killed the goose that laid the golden egg: choked traffic, air pollution, high prices, and a reduction of quality of life for many communities.

Tue Mar 09, 04:28:00 PM EST
ppatin said...

Don't get me started on what those stupid (and mostly empty!) Ritz-Carlton condos have done to the water along Federal Hill. I agree that far too many deals are cut with developers, while a typical homeowner has to pay the obscene 2.3% property tax rate, essentially subsidizing those who have political connections.

Tue Mar 09, 04:30:00 PM EST
buzoncrime said...

The whole purpose of my comment was to get someone started!
And it's not just the Ritz Carlton. Though I suspect whoever owns the mortgage on that will use stimulus money to refinance and sit on it, while it remains mostly empty. Are there that many rich people in Baltimore?
Remember, the one developer who ignored the city's height limit on some homes along Key Highway? The city issues a stop work order when the residents of Federal Hill complain, but the buildings' height was already finished. So, he pays a modest fine: tough that the building's too high?! Wonder if he's still allowed to get building permits?

I remember the city had a master plan for the area now called Inner Harbor East. It had a height limit of 18 stories. Eventually, the city ignored its own master plan, and now there are several towers there far higher than 18 stories. Anyone ever try to drive downtown in rush hour and get to the Marriotts in Inner Harbor East? How did all those towers get built? Does the master plan for that area still exist somewhere in a drawer? Do the owners of those towers pay any property tax?
And of course, there's the issue of the title transfer tax which residential buyers have to pay when they purchase property. Wonder whatever happened to the Governor's proposal to extend that to commercial properties.

Tue Mar 09, 04:52:00 PM EST
Cham said...

Hey, I like the Ritz-Carlton, get off its case. That promenade over there is 30 feet wide with lovely benches and drops me off at the Scupper. I like the giant wall the separates me and my bike from whatever is occupying the inside. I get a lovely view of the harbor, the sunshine, I see the sights, enjoy the water, the boats and the birdies. I have yet to figure out why those Ritz-Carltonites want to live imprisoned behind an ugly concrete wall in the dark, but I guess we are both happy about the way things worked out.

Oh, and the Marriott has a lovely public bathroom. Very nice, lots of paper towels. Sometimes I have to pee. All cities ignore their own master plans all the time. They are just something the planning departments create with their fancy software. When it comes time to issuing permits the sky is the limit as long as the city gets to somehow increase the tax base and the mayor gets to go to Victoria's Secret. Take a look at the Smart Growth plan from 1985 and then look at Google Earth. Do you see any correlation?

Tue Mar 09, 06:31:00 PM EST
buzoncrime said...

Oh, ok, Cham---
Though, I may never live in the Ritz Carlton, you've convinced me that they have a nice promenade there.
Wonder how far east one can go on it before you can't go any farther. Next time I ride my bike down there, I will see.
The Ritz Carlton folks (I don't think there are any yet) need and like high walls because some other folks might think they have money, and decide they want some of it.
Ah, and you get my point about "planning"; it's always nice to have a plan.

Tue Mar 09, 06:42:00 PM EST
Cham said...

The promenade ends at Harborview. That is the current end of the Emerald City, but the city is trying to offload the old Fire Department repair place, so maybe another giftcard laden developer could send SRB to Anne Taylor and we could get more promenade and more sky scrapers. Just think of the screams those yuppies on Key Highway would yelp in unison to that idea! Build em up I say so I can cycle all the way home.

Tue Mar 09, 06:57:00 PM EST

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