Legislators vote to halt investigation; more arrests in department to come?

Posted 9/30/09

The Sullivan County Legislators voted five to three on July 24 to rescind a resolution that authorized county manager Josh Potosek to spend up to $175,000 on an investigation.

Gerald Orseck, …

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Legislators vote to halt investigation; more arrests in department to come?

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The Sullivan County Legislators voted five to three on July 24 to rescind a resolution that authorized county manager Josh Potosek to spend up to $175,000 on an investigation.

Gerald Orseck, an attorney representing Randy Parker, the commissioner of the Sullivan County Division of Family Services (DFS), said the investigation targeted his client, but some 40 whistleblower complaints against Parker had been made by employees who were reacting to Parker’s attempt to eliminate waste, fraud and abuse from the system.

Three people from DFS were arrested last fall and Orseck said more arrests were likely coming. He said, “In the near future, there are probably going to be three more criminal arrests and indictments of employees for fraudulently giving away money to fraudulent beneficiaries to vendors, etc. What happens is that the employees who have not yet been caught, and other employees whose job performance is atrocious—it will come out—have collectively put together the so-called 40 whistleblower complaints against Randy Parker.”

Also during public comment, DFS employee Kim Martin said that she also filed whistleblower complaints, but not against Parker, instead against others in the department because she found they were committing fraud. In fact, three of the people she filed complaints against were those arrested last fall. She said she suffered serious retaliation because of her actions, but county officials had so far denied her retaliation claim, and her appeal is pending.

Legislators differed sharply in their opinions of whether the board should rescind the resolution regarding payment to pay for the investigation.

Legislator Cindy Geiger, who said she was on a mission to reform the delivery of social services in the county, said, “There is reason to believe … that the focus of this investigation is to assist the county manager in efforts to remove or sanction Commissioner Parker. The timeline of events over the last several years deserves serious scrutiny.”

Legislator Cora Edwards said she has not received conclusive determinations from two previous investigations, and she has been told by various law enforcement professionals that the $175,000 cost of the investigation was very high.

Legislator Kathy LaBuda said her obligation as an elected legislator is to make sure all of the county employees are protected.

County chair Scott Samuelson said the employees who filed the 40 whistleblower complaints had a right to have their allegations investigated. Samuelson also said he would have tabled the vote on the resolution because Potosek, who was away on a previously scheduled family vacation, would not be able to attend the meeting. He said the matter was not time sensitive.

He also said over the past two years the legislature “has voted unanimously to support Parker as he works to reduce the amount of fraud, waste and abuse in DFS, and the issue is not about a singular person, or the goal, it is about protecting all of our employees.”

Legislator Ira Stengart said that the legislature should not “micromanage” county employees and should provide the tools needed for the county manager to do his job.

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