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NORWALK, Conn. – Newly implemented recording practices in the Norwalk town clerk’s office late last fall helped to uncover undisclosed questions in office operations that led to the investigation of one of its employees, according to city officials.
There were aspects of the investigation that Town Clerk Rick McQuaid said Thursday he could not discuss. But he acknowledged that the office began new recording mechanisms in November.
The employee in question, whose identity has not been publicly disclosed while the investigation continues, is at the center of an investigation into the possible mishandling of money, which was first reported by The Hour newspaper.
“In the daily operations of running the town clerk’s office and working with staff, there were questions about the business practices that arose,” said McQuaid. He declined to offer more specifics but said the new recording practices “helped show certain things” in how records were kept.
The office “was not looking for problems,” he said, but discovered some undisclosed irregularities.
The employee is on administrative leave – with pay – and has been since late January, according to McQuaid.
Mayor Richard Moccia had no comment Thursday about the case, his assistant Sally Johnson said. When he intends to speak about the matter is not known, but Johnson indicated Moccia may publicly address it soon.
Comments (21)
The person they are questioning regarding the "Town Clerks Office" is someone whose credibility is pretty shaky as the truth begins to unveil around the offices of City Hall, it appears the suspect person may have lied about catastropic health issues, if you would lie about something so sensitive, what would stop you from lieing about something criminal. I know too much about what goes around City Hall, and I hoped it was all wrong, but as the days unfold, the light is becoming brighter. I will say however, that there is a ton of information spewing from the walls of City Hall, and very upsetting to hear at times, since I am a resident.
If I was suspended without pay and list my house and had my car repossessed because I couldn't pay my bills and was later exonerated, it would be like hitting the lottery. That's why the person is suspended with pay until they can prove guilt.
I agree with your post, but give me a break this has been going on for over 6 months. In the meantime, Norwalk Residents are flipping the bill! NOW THAT CANNOT BE EXONERATED!
Maybe we should be pointing our fingers at the administration that contines to pay this person, and why this investigation is so long winded, It looks to me, that it pays to look like a suspect for as long as you can, you get vacations and paid at the same time! WOW, what an opportunity!
Interesting LW. The only one who brought up the election and political affiliations is you. Nobody is making this political. It DOES point to a need for better budgeting, true accountability and a regular review of all aspects of our government. Hmmm? Who is it that has been asking for that all along?
Dont panic, that won't happen, they like the set up the way it is, if your accountable then your work load becomes larger. (snicker) I like your comment no matter what your political preference is.
Panic, apparently, the new procedures have already been put in place, that's what sent up the red flag. However, in Spoon's defense, I can easily see this incident being used as a political weapon. Even in this thread, people are upset that the employee hasn't been out and out fired. If that happened, it could actually end up protecting the real thief and destroy an innocent person. Sad but true.
@Paige
Panic faults me for considering how this could become political, then immediately proceeds to try and put a few points on the board for his or her favored candidate. Oh, the irony. I guess Panic proved my point - neither side is going to wait for the truth, they'll just spin this with their preferred narrative.
Couldn't had said it better myself, thank you!
Spoon, The problem is that people want vigilante justice until it's their own family or friends who are involved. Then they scream for due process.
I know what my friend and his family went through even though he did nothing wrong. Everyone was very quick to say to him "You should have known..." to which my response was, "Known what?" Only God is omnipotent, although many people fancy themselves to be.
And sadly, people are going to use whatever advantage they can find to get an edge over someone else.
It is hard to understand how an investigation into missing money that points clearly to a single suspect could take so long to bring to conclusion on the City's part, as the employer. The criminal investigation obviously requires a different level of proof and that could take longer, but should not take months, unless some records have been destroyed. It sounds like the City probably has enough to fire this person now, but is waiting for a conviction, or, at least, an arrest. Protecting a suspected employee's rights is laudable, and probably required by a union contract, but this sounds a bit more than any union contract requires.
AMEN, OLD TIMER!
Think of it as a vacation, are you serious?! Where can I sign up to get a seven or eight week vacation?
o Norwalk, the person actually took a vacation while on "Administrative Leave", this has been going on for months, I'm certain at least 4 months now, and we are paying for the luxury, while the city officials suffle about trying to gather the proof, and in the meantime, reprimanding others for minimal activities that are not allowed by the Cities standards and having to take time off without pay, go figure. Norwalk is going to the DOGS, Time to get out of Dodge! And trust me these City officials are getting paid well to shuffle.
Sad to say this about the city, but I agree with everything you write.
So now we are paying a suspected thief for doing nothing? If we dont KNOW if they are guilty they should still be working and if we know they should just be fired. No wonder we always need to raise taxes, we run things like idiots.
No, Ken, we are paying an employee while an investigation is underway. The City would be liable if the employee was fired and then found to be innocent. Since the Town Clerk's office handles very important information, the integrity of the office must be maintained. Furthermore, if the employee continued to work, people would be furious that the individual had access to the funds taken in or the records. It's better this way. Think of it as a vacation.
Thats silly, liable for what? Maybe the people involved in the investigation should have kept their mouths shut until they KNEW.
Will this person pay us back if guilty? Or does the union protect them from that too? I own a business & in my world, one where profit & loss matters, if I think you are stealing you are history today, period. Maybe they should be suspended without pay & get paid retroactively if found innocent.
Thinking of it as a vacation burns my butt too. I'm not sure in the current financial climate that vacation & sick time shouldnt be cut before taxes are raised. Again, in the real world I live in, where profit & loss matter, vacation pay went away 5 years ago and isnt coming back soon.
I am ranting to a point but honestly think we (the city) act very foolishly as an employer.
Believe me, I'm not happy about it, either, but there are probably union contracts involved and if the administration makes the tiniest error, it could cost the City millions in a lawsuit. Everything has to be done according to protocol. Every "t" has to be crossed properly, and every "i" dotted just so.
Otherwise the case could be tossed out or even worst, the judgement could go against the City. Think fines and settlements....big, big fines and big settlements.
Actually, I'm kind of surprised it's in the news because that could cause problems down the road. Think back to when Nick Kydes was accused of a conflict of interest. I think that cost the City $13,000 just in attorney fees and it could have been much, much higher.
Paige,
I'm somewhat surprised it's in the news too but it's an election year and Republicans and Democrats both want to put their own spin on this story. The Republican spin, and the spin of the anti-Garfunkel Democrats, will probably be that this was going on for a long time under Andy Garfunkel and Rick McQuaid finally discovered the problem. The Democratic spin will likely be that this is just another financial scandal resulting from the Moccia administration being asleep at the switch. Which one is correct? Probably neither, but since it's an election year, the two competing factions probably won't let the truth get in the way of a good story.
Many years ago, a friend of our who was an attorney was caught up in a land deal scam. The guilty parties got out of the country and left him "holding the bag", so to speak. People kept saying to me, "How could So-and-so get involved in such a shady deal? I can't believe it!" Well, the truth of the matter is that the two con artists were out to deceive everyone, including our friend. That's the top rung of the theft ladder - to take something that is not yours and not have anyone find out about it. The lower rung of this is to take something and set it up so someone else takes the "fall". And the bottom rung is taking something and getting caught.
However, in the last few decades, people seem to think that everyone knows everything about everyone. With that kind of conspiracy premise, Andy would have "known" there was a thief in the office and he "looked the other way". That would also mean that both Knopp and Moccia "knew" and both of them "looked the other way", along with all the other people who worked in the Town Clerk's office. Everyone would have been guilty, except for Rick, who apparently was the one that found out about it.
Unfortunately, not everyone knows everything that's going on. At least for myself, I have enough trouble covering my own bases, never mind everyone else's.
That's why I'm not so terribly upset knowing that someone is on administrative leave right now. It's possible, just possible that the staff member was set up, like our friend was.
I couldn't agree with you more, but this persons credibility is diminishing quickly as the truth is being unravelled. And I also agree that ANDY GARFUNKEL SHULD HAD FOUND THIS A LONG TIME AGO.