Fwd: COIB Settlements Announced

Look at this. City employees are using other city employees as their personal chauffeurs and the only penalty is a 30 suspension and some money and demotion. Amazing what about the voice of the tax payer that is paying for all this?

The homeowners get a greater than 6% increase in property taxes each year while inflation is near zero and city workers only get a slap on the wrist.

I'm sure they keep their pensions. Amazing!

---------- Forwarded message ---------
From: Katherine Miller <KMiller@coib.nyc.gov>
Date: Tue, Dec 10, 2019 at 11:57 AM
Subject: COIB Settlements Announced
To: Katherine Miller <KMiller@coib.nyc.gov>

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: December 10, 2019

CONTACT: Katherine Miller at kmiller@coib.nyc.gov or (212) 437-0741

The New York City Conflicts of Interest Board (the "Board") announces two settlements.

Use of City Position & Use of City Resources. Over the course of 19 months, a New York City Department of Homeless Services ("DHS") Supervising Special Officer regularly directed on-duty subordinate DHS peace officers to use DHS vehicles to drive him to personal destinations and run personal errands for him, including driving him: from work to at or near his home or his girlfriend's home on almost a daily basis; to go grocery shopping; to a United States passport office; to the airport for vacation; and to and from a funeral. To hide his conduct, the Supervising Special Officer regularly instructed his subordinates to exclude these trips from official trip records or to identify the nearest DHS location as their trip destination.

The City's conflicts of interest law prohibits City supervisors from requesting or accepting personal favors from their subordinates (City Charter Section 2604(b)(3)); from directing City personnel to perform personal favors for them on City time; and from using City vehicles for a non-City purpose (City Charter Section 2604(b)(2), pursuant to Board Rules Section 1-13(b)). The Board accepted the DHS-imposed disciplinary penalty – a 30-day suspension, valued at approximately $4,789, and a demotion, resulting in a pay reduction of approximately $7,000 per year – as sufficient and imposed no additional penalty. The disposition is attached as "COIB Disposition (DHS)."

Use of City Position & Acceptance of Outside Compensation for Performing Official Duties. A New York City Department of Youth and Community Development ("DYCD") Administrative Procurement Analyst managed a portfolio of DYCD contracts with various organizations, including the 71st Precinct Community Council. The Analyst recommended that the 71st Precinct Community Council hire her and her friend to prepare its contract documents to be submitted to DYCD. The following year, while overseeing the 71st Precinct Community Council as part of her DYCD portfolio, the Analyst was paid $220 by the 71st Precinct Community Council to complete its contract documents for DYCD. The Analyst was required to do this type of work as part of her official DYCD duties.

The City's conflicts of interest law prohibits City employees from seeking paid work from an organization that they oversee as part of their official City duties; from overseeing an organization on behalf of the City while in a business and financial relationship with that organization (City Charter Section 2604(b)(3)); and from accepting payment from a source other than the City for doing work that is part of their official City duties (City Charter Section 2604(b)(13)). In a joint settlement with the Board and DYCD, the Analyst agreed to accept a 15-day suspension without pay, valued at approximately $4,408. The disposition is attached as "COIB Disposition (DYCD)."

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COIB is the independent, non-mayoral City agency charged with interpreting, administering, and enforcing the City's Conflicts of Interest Law, Annual Disclosure Law, Lobbyist Gift Law, Affiliated Not-for-Profits Law, and Legal Defense Trusts Law. The agency's jurisdiction extends to all City agencies and current and former officers, elected officials, and employees of the City, as well as lobbyists, not-for-profit organizations affiliated with elected officials or the agents of elected officials, and legal defense trusts with at least one public servant as a beneficiary and the trustees and beneficiaries of such trusts. Learn more about COIB and the law at nyc.gov/ethics.

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New York City Conflicts of Interest Board

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New York, NY 10007

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www.nyc.gov/ethics