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| NEWS > 27 November 2007 |
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Ex-federal agents sue city, al
CHICAGO – Chicago police retaliated with harsh reprisals against two agents who blew the whistle on one of the city’s most corrupt officers ever, a federal court jury was told Tuesday.
Diane V. Klipfel and Michael V. Casali, a married couple who were agents with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, found their lives in ruins after they leveled corruption charges in 1992 at decorated narcotics investigator Joseph Miedzianowski, attorney Sally H. Saltzberg said.
Klipfel and Casali are seeking almost $10 million apiece in damages from the city, saying they were not o... Read more
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Daily Mail - Charleston - Char
27 November 2007
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State to look into allegations
Amid growing financial problems for Nitro city government, the state Ethics Commission has agreed to investigate allegations that the city paid its police chief for heavy equipment work he did on top of his regular salary.
The investigation could conclude that Jack Jordan was improperly paid at least $5,332 by the city.
He makes $55,124 a year as the city's police chief.
Nitro resident and city government critic Karen Fritz filed a complaint with the Ethics Commission earlier this month over three checks she said were made out to Jordan for his operating a backhoe during renovations to the city park.
Fritz cited possible violations of the dual compensation and private gain sections of the state ethics law.
Jordan on Monday said he had been advised not to comment about the investigation. He said Fritz's complaint is political and amounts to nothing more than harassment.
"I'm sick of it," Jordan said. "I am totally sick of this whole mess."
Jordan threatened to sue after the dust settles.
Fritz said she obtained copies of the checks through a Freedom of Information Act request.
The checks were written on the city's professional services and contract services accounts, Fritz said.
The checks were issued in July 2006 and January and July this year for running heavy equipment at the city park, Fritz said.
"We have pictures of him doing this," Fritz said. "I was led to believe he was doing this on a volunteer basis."
Fritz said the checks were for 260 hours of heavy equipment work at a wage of $19.71 an hour. That pay was allegedly in addition to around $1,329.15 in overtime the city says Jordan was paid over the last couple years.
At least three other salaried city employees also were paid nearly $30,000 for overtime during the same time period, according to officials. Salaried employees are not supposed to receive overtime pay.
"It is so hard to keep up with all the garbage; it just goes deeper and there's more," Fritz said. "It could be a full-time job around here just checking on these people to see how they spent Nitro's money."
Nitro Mayor Rusty Casto said he was aware of the ethics investigation, but didn't know any details.
"He was paid for contract labor when we built the ball field over at the city park," Casto said of Jordan.
News of the ethics investigation comes as city officials brace for what could be a dire picture of the city's finances.
Tonight, independent auditors are expected to give city council members a report on the full breadth of the city's debt - which some have estimated as approaching $1 million.
Earlier this month, the Kanawha County Commission voted to grant the city $35,000 toward more than $230,000 in unpaid premiums to the state Public Employees Insurance Agency.
The agency had threatened to cut off coverage to around 60 city employees, but agreed to extend the deadline because of commission President Kent Carper's intervention.
The grant is expected to be matched by $35,000 in city funds and the city has to make its November premium payment on time next month to avoid cancellation of its employees' health insurance coverage.
As long as these two conditions are met, the city's coverage will continue until at least January.
The city had asked the county for a $400,000 loan, but Carper found out that kind of assistance could have been illegal.
In addition to the PEIA debt, Carper has estimated that the city is about $317,000 short on an escrow account it has to maintain connected to a pending lawsuit over development at the Nitro Marketplace.
The city also is about $70,000 in debt on workers' compensation premiums to BrickStreet Mutual Insurance and about $99,000 in arrears on premiums to the state Board of Risk and Insurance Management.
To cut costs and show good faith to the county commissioners, city council recently did away with four positions in city government and promised to lay off other unnecessary personnel.
The four axed positions are expected to save the city $76,799 a year.
The city has also vowed to aggressively pursue collection of around $276,000 in delinquent municipal fees from residents.
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