| |
 |
| LT-00-09: Audit of Alleged Coercive Actions Taken Against Employees and the Misuse of Government Funds, Both During the Term of the Former Mayor of Rota (December 13, 2000) - This letter report presents the results of our review of alleged coercive actions taken against employees of the Rota Mayor's Office (RMO) and misuse of government funds by former officials of the RMO. The objectives of our review were to determine whether Mayor's Office personnel applied political pressure against RMO employees, and whether checks issued in the name of an employee who had resigned were misused. Our review showed that the Rota Mayor's Office violated the Commonwealth Code when it initiated punitive action against employees with limited term appointments who failed to support the Mayor's reelection bid. More specifically, after appointing 12 limited term employees in the month before the election, the RMO later attempted to use coercive action against nine of them, either by comments made to them because of their non-support of the Mayor, or by terminating them early. The Commonwealth Code prohibits officials from taking action to cause employees to lose their position because of their support or non-support of a candidate for election. As a result, CNMI law enacted to keep officials from abusing their position was violated. Our review also showed that four payroll checks totaling $2,064.28 were issued to an employee who had notified the Mayor's Office of his resignation and had ceased working. The checks were then improperly used by that employee's spouse and the Mayor's Chief Administrative Officer (CAO). The employee's spouse wrongly endorsed the employee's signature on one check and gave it to the Mayor's CAO. As regards the other 3 checks, at the CAO's suggestion, the employee's spouse endorsed the employee's name on each, giving one to the CAO and depositing the other two into a bank account held jointly by the spouse and a son. One of the two checks given to the CAO was subsequently deposited into the Mayor's account. As a result, the government lost the use of $2,064 in public funds which had not been earned by the employee when the four checks were wrongly endorsed and shared by individuals not entitled to that money. We believe the Chief Administrative Officer disregarded the law when he used coercive political action against employees and, with the cooperation of an employee's spouse, improperly shared in the proceeds of government payroll checks issued in the employee's name. We previously reviewed these matters and referred them to the Attorney General for consideration. Accordingly, we recommend that: (1) the Attorney General continue to review these matters, (2) the Governor write a forceful letter to heads of agencies including the Rota Mayor's Office warning that coercive actions against employees because of their support or non-support of a candidate will not be tolerated, and reminding them that such activity is prohibited by Commonwealth law; and finally (3) the Secretary of the Department of Finance initiate actions to collect $2,064 from individuals who wrongly endorsed checks issued in the name of the former employee, as discussed in this report. In his letter response dated November 13, 2000, the Attorney General agreed with Recommendation 1, and stated that his office would fully explore and anticipates charging the individuals involved with this crime with multiple counts of Theft, Bribery, Political Coercion, Conspiracy, Solicitation and Misconduct in Public Office. However, since these events occurred almost three years ago, he is instructing his Investigative Unit to review certain witness statements that are critical to the most serious charges and update their version of events. In his letter dated October 12, 2000, the Governor initiated needed action to Recommendation 2 when he requested that all department and agency heads remind their employees of the provisions in 1 CMC §8145(f) and 1 CMC §8143(a). 1 CMC §8145(f) prohibits any official from causing employees to lose their position because of failure to support a candidate for office. 1 CMC §8143(a) specifically prohibits a person in the civil service from using "official authority or influence for the purpose of interfering with an election or affecting the result thereof." In her letter dated October 10, 2000, the Secretary of Finance agreed with Recommendation 3, but stated that since check forgery is a violation of CNMI law, the Attorney General should be the one to initiate legal action against those individuals and collect the $2064 due the government. She accordingly referred this matter to the Attorney General, and requested that he take the necessary steps to collect the $2064 from individuals who fraudulently endorsed checks. Based on the responses received from the Attorney General, the Governor, and the Secretary of Finance, we consider Recommendation 1 resolved, and Recommendations 2 and 3 closed. The additional information or action required to close Recommendation 1 is presented in the report.
|
