The New York Inspector General is investigating a whistleblower's allegations of widespread management misconduct at the state-run workers' compensation carrier, including questionable spending for lavish wining and dining, sex-related hiring, and packing the payroll with under-qualified, politically-connected staff.
Kate Gurnett, a spokesperson for Inspector General Joseph Fisch, confirmed the probe, which was kicked off by a letter and affidavit from Edward Obertubbesing, an associate attorney with the New York State Insurance Fund legal department.
Mr. Obertubbesing, who was previously business manager of the NYSIF Albany District office from Nov. 16, 2000, to June 1, 2007, accused the executive staff–including Executive Director David Wehner and Deputy Executive Director Chris Barclay–of "bad faith and with malice and discrimination in violation of various state and federal laws…"
NYSIF executives, his affidavit said, had provided "political patronage jobs to persons" they chose or at the direction of former Republican Gov. George Pataki's office and former Senate Republican Majority Leader Joseph Bruno's office.
Employees, he alleged, "were brought into NYSIF with little if any work to do, were paid significant salaries, and the executives of NYSIF permitted and encouraged such situations to occur."
He accused Mr. Wehner and Mr. Barclay of putting people in highly paid titles with no relation to the actual job they were doing, "for reasons including the provision of political patronage jobs, nepotism and favoritism based on personal relationships–including relationships of a romantic and sexual nature."
The Civil Service Commission in February 2006, according to his affidavit, had approved a request for 170 customer service representative positions in the last year of the Pataki administration, ostensibly to serve in mini call centers, but no such call centers have been created.
Mr. Obertubbesing said the NYSIF had misused its monies for spending on "excessively costly dinners and parties, significant alcohol consumption at senior management meetings, and through office remodeling and renovation projects."
He wrote that a Democratic management employee, Randall Hinton–who was shunted over to NYSIF after he won a discrimination settlement with the state Department of Environmental Conservation–was given no work to do despite his objections, and that Mr. Barclay had said he should be assigned a storage closet as an office.
Ms. Gurnett said she could not provide more detail on the investigation because the Inspector General's Office had only recently received the matter.
Mr. Obertubbesing also sent his material to NYSIF Chair Robert H. Hurlbut, the State Office of the Attorney General, the State Comptroller and the State Department of Civil Service.
A spokesman for the NYSIF, Bob Lawson, said they are conducting their own investigation of Mr. Obertubbesing's allegations, but he was referring all other questions to the Inspector General.
The inspector general, in addition to producing a report with recommendations, can refer matters for indictment and prosecution to other law enforcement agencies including the State Attorney General, local district attorneys and the U.S. Attorney's office.
Mr. Fisch was quoted by the Albany Times Union as saying: "We're looking at the whole package."
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