Editor's note: General Blanchard and Com. Preckwinkle show some guts and go after the crooks in the Probate Court of Cook County. Lucius Verenus, Schoolmaster, ProbateSharks.com
Inspector general's report also cites more defiance of other agencies by county assessor
By Hal Dardick, Chicago Tribune reporter
9:30 PM CDT, October 16, 2012
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Investigators caught overnight workers at the Cook County morgue sleeping and watching a martial arts movie before determining that those were not isolated incidents, according to a report released Tuesday by county Inspector General Patrick Blanchard.
"Certain intake attendants working the overnight shift routinely watched movies on county computers and certain intake attendants slept or 'nodded off' while on duty," the report concluded.
During the May 3 surprise inspection, investigators also found thousands of hidden documents dating as far back as 2004. They were supposed to have been entered into a computer but had not, the report stated.
The inspection came at a time when the morgue was under intense scrutiny because workers there had publicly distributed photos that revealed overcrowded conditions that included stacked bodies. County Board President Toni Preckwinkle has since replaced the medical examiner and administrator responsible for overseeing the morgue.
Of the three employees caught sleeping or watching a Bruce Lee movie, one was suspended for 25 days and another for five days. The third has yet to be disciplined, Blanchard wrote.
Preckwinkle on Tuesday also noted that a supervisor has been put on the overnight shift. Dr. Stephen Cina, the new medical examiner, has "a lot of work to do cleaning up there, and he's gotten started," she said.
Blanchard's report also notes that Cook County Assessor Joseph Berrios refused to comply with a subpoena issued by the inspector general's office as part of an investigation into an employee who allegedly took multiple property tax exemptions when only one is allowed.
Berrios handled the matter internally by suspending former Markham branch manager Lewis Towers for two weeks without pay, said Kelley Quinn, Berrios' spokeswoman. Lewis also paid back the $4,400 he owed in taxes, she said.
It was the second time Berrios has asserted he is not beholden to other county offices. Last summer he ignored a county Ethics Board order that he pay a $10,000 fine for allegedly violating nepotism rules that barred him from hiring relatives. Berrios is relying on multiple legal opinions that he does not fall under the jurisdiction of the Ethics Board or its rules, Quinn said.
Blanchard's report also revealed details about the following investigations, which all occurred during the three months ending Sept. 30:
A doctor with the Cook County Health and Hospitals System allegedly received months of county disability payments after a surgery even though he was working in private practice at a local hospital during that period. Blanchard recommended that the health system fire the doctor.
A former top Environmental Control Department official promoted a woman with whom he had a relationship to a manager's post. He and the promoted manager then allegedly lied about it. The official was fired and the manager suspended for 15 days.
An unnamed county commissioner contacted a department head to ask about the promotion of someone who had done political work on the commissioner's behalf. The employee, who allegedly admitted doing the political work to persuade the commissioner to intervene on his behalf, has since resigned.
An autopsy technician in the medical examiner's office called in sick, but then allegedly went to work at the office of a private forensic pathologist. The employee resigned before the inspector general's office could interview him.
hdardick@tribune.com
Twitter @ReporterHal
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/ct-met-cook-county-morgue-report-1017-20121017,0,3667567.story
Showing posts with label 2012 Corruption Cook County IL. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 2012 Corruption Cook County IL. Show all posts
Thursday, October 18, 2012
Friday, October 12, 2012
Court: Bribes not high enough for conviction
Editor's note: Your ProbateShark withholds comment...this reversal speaks for itself. Lucius Verenus, Schoolmaster, ProbateSharks.com
Court: Bribes not high enough for conviction
Associated Press
11:42 AM CDT, October 11, 2012
An appeals court has reversed the bribery conviction of a Chicago zoning inspector on grounds the value of two $600 payoffs he received weren't high enough.
The 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Chicago issued the ruling Thursday.
Dominick Owens was arrested in 2009 for allegedly accepting $1,200 to issue certificates permitting owners to occupy their homes after construction. He allegedly issued them without inspections.
His 2011 conviction stemmed from an investigation of inspectors dubbed “Operation Crooked Code.” It led to more than a dozen arrests.
An FBI affidavit said Owens accepted thousands of dollars from a cooperating witness.
But the court found prosecutors failed to prove the value of the bribes was $5,000 or more as required under the law used to convict Owens.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/breaking/chi-court-bribes-not-high-enough-for-conviction-20121011,0,2707122.story
Court: Bribes not high enough for conviction
Associated Press
11:42 AM CDT, October 11, 2012
An appeals court has reversed the bribery conviction of a Chicago zoning inspector on grounds the value of two $600 payoffs he received weren't high enough.
The 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Chicago issued the ruling Thursday.
Dominick Owens was arrested in 2009 for allegedly accepting $1,200 to issue certificates permitting owners to occupy their homes after construction. He allegedly issued them without inspections.
His 2011 conviction stemmed from an investigation of inspectors dubbed “Operation Crooked Code.” It led to more than a dozen arrests.
An FBI affidavit said Owens accepted thousands of dollars from a cooperating witness.
But the court found prosecutors failed to prove the value of the bribes was $5,000 or more as required under the law used to convict Owens.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/breaking/chi-court-bribes-not-high-enough-for-conviction-20121011,0,2707122.story
Tuesday, June 26, 2012
Ethics board tells Cook County assessor to fire relatives
Ethics board tells Cook County assessor to fire relatives
Associated Press
7:04 AM CDT, June 26, 2012
The Cook County ethics board has ordered the county's assessor to fire two of the three relatives who work in the government tax office.
Joe Berrios was elected in 2010 to run the office. The Chicago Sun-Times reports the ethics board determined Berrios violated his fiduciary duties as well as a prohibition on hiring relatives laid out in the county's ethics ordinance.
The Sun-Times reports it obtained a “confidential” document with the ethics board's finding. The report, signed by ethics board chairwoman Roseann Oliver, concluded the hiring by Berrios of his family members as county employees undermined the public trust.
The ethics board recommends Berrios fire his son, Joseph “Joey” Berrios, from his job as a residential analyst and his sister, Carmen Berrios, as director of taxpayer services.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/breaking/chi-ethics-board-tells-cook-county-assessor-to-fire-relatives-20120626,0,7082285.story
Editor's note: Roseanne Oliver, this Shark can give you some names of unethical employees of the Probate Court of Cook County who also "undermine the public trust". Lucius Verenus, Schoolmaster, ProbateSharks.com
Associated Press
7:04 AM CDT, June 26, 2012
The Cook County ethics board has ordered the county's assessor to fire two of the three relatives who work in the government tax office.
Joe Berrios was elected in 2010 to run the office. The Chicago Sun-Times reports the ethics board determined Berrios violated his fiduciary duties as well as a prohibition on hiring relatives laid out in the county's ethics ordinance.
The Sun-Times reports it obtained a “confidential” document with the ethics board's finding. The report, signed by ethics board chairwoman Roseann Oliver, concluded the hiring by Berrios of his family members as county employees undermined the public trust.
The ethics board recommends Berrios fire his son, Joseph “Joey” Berrios, from his job as a residential analyst and his sister, Carmen Berrios, as director of taxpayer services.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/breaking/chi-ethics-board-tells-cook-county-assessor-to-fire-relatives-20120626,0,7082285.story
Editor's note: Roseanne Oliver, this Shark can give you some names of unethical employees of the Probate Court of Cook County who also "undermine the public trust". Lucius Verenus, Schoolmaster, ProbateSharks.com
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