Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/98917
10A Daily News ��� Friday, December 14, 2012 California audit: Whistleblowers ID thousands in waste This is Charlie. He has an opinion about everything. SACRAMENTO (AP) ��� State employees engaged in bribery, conspiracy to commit mail fraud, received improper overtime payments and were wrongly reimbursed for thousands of dollars in travel expenses, including one scheme that cost two state agencies more than $227,000 in lost payments, California���s state auditor reported Tuesday. In her annual whistleblower report, state Auditor Elaine Howle said her office received 7,238 reports of improper activity from April 2011 through the end of June 2012 and has opened investigations into nearly 1,500 cases from that time and before. The state���s whistleblower act authorizes her office to investigate improper and illegal government activity that is wasteful or involves gross misconduct, incompetence or inefficiency. In the biggest case cited this year, Los Angeles employees of the Franchise Tax Board and secretary of state���s office collected thousands of dollars in payments from a courier in exchange for supplying him with hundreds of official state letters for his clients without charging the $15 to $20 per letter fees, the report said. All three were convicted of bribery and ordered by the Los Angeles County Superior Court to pay more than $227,000 in restitution for the ruse that occurred from at least 2007 to 2009. The report said at least one other employee knew about the scheme and lied to investigators, while another quit. One staffer was sentenced to seven days in county jail, 400 hours of community service and four years of probation, and a second to three years��� probation and 400 hours of community service. The courier was sentenced to 14 days in custody, six years��� probation and 200 hours of community service. The auditor���s report also found that a ������high-level official������ in the University of California president���s office was wastefully reimbursed for $6,100 in travel expenses from July 2008 through July 2011, including for a five-day trip to England, even after she highlighted wasteful reimbursements to the man totaling more than $152,400 when he worked at the California State University chancellor���s office. The auditor also found: ��� A California Department of Education employee ������misused state time and equipment when he posted nearly 4,900 comments on The Sacramento Bee���s news website during state time������ ��� 195 of the 208 days he was at work during the span reviewed, according to the report. He also used state time and resources for his second job as a contractor. The report said the man���s supervisor knew that he was not doing much worked and was on the Internet excessively but repeatedly failed to supervise him or report the infractions so he could be punished. The employee voluntarily left the department in November, while the investigation was ongoing, said Paul Hefner, a spokesman for the Department of Education. CDE has since installed software that prevents employees from uploading content to social media sites without authorization and given additional training to the supervisor involved, he said. ��� A former Employment Development Department staffer falsified documents for a bankrupt company to allow two of her friends to receive unemployment benefits by claiming they were laid off from a company where they never worked. The accounting technician and the recipients were later convicted of conspiracy to commit mail fraud for receiving nearly $93,000 in unemployment payments. The employee and one of her friends were sentenced to federal prison, and another was sentenced to probation. They were also ordered to repay the money. ��� The California State Athletic Commission overpaid nearly $120,000 to 18 of its athletic inspectors by paying them an hourly overtime rate rather than straight-time pay for the jobs they did voluntarily in addition to their regular state jobs. ��� A manager with California Correctional Health Care Services authorized Corrections employees to rent vehicles and receive mileage reimbursement for commuting from home to work or to stay in hotels near their homes or the office where they were required to regularly report to work. That led to the improper payment of more than $55,000 in travel benefits. Through the Newspapers in Education program, area classrooms receive the Red Bluff Daily News every day thanks to the generosity of these local businesses & individuals. TEHAMA COUNTY DAILY NEWS RED BLUFF 885 NTY S I N C E 1 TEHAMA COU E VOICE OF THANK YOU FOR SUPPORTING NEWSPAPERS Problem is, his wife, children and grandkids all roll their eyes when he gets going on one of his rants. Charlie has found a place where his voice can be heard and his opinions are valued. At www.redbluffdailynews.com he can read and respond to news stories, local opinion columns, editorials and blogs. He can ask questions about local places and events and chime in on topics big and small. Local news, relevant to you. redbluffdailynews.com Your community. Your life. ��� THE GOLD EXCHANGE ��� LUIGI���S PIZZA ��� RED BLUFF AUTO DISMANTLING ��� OLIVE CITY QUICK LUBE ��� WALMART ��� ADOBE ROAD CHEVRON ��� CORNING AUTO CENTER ��� DM TECH HIGH SPEED INTERNET ��� GARCIA CONSTRUCTION ��� INTER-CITY BODY & PAINT ��� NORTH MAIN AUTOMOTIVE ��� RANCHO GRANDE RESTAURANT ��� SCHOOL HOUSE MARKET ��� TEHAMA CO. DEPT. 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