TBO.com - TBO is Tampa Bay Online

Highlands Today

5 County Employees Suspected Of Stealing Fuel

ADVERTISEMENT

By JIM KONKOLY

Highlands Today

Published: August 6, 2008

SEBRING - An anonymous tip called in to the clerk of court's office on March 25 has led to a sheriff's investigation into allegations that five county employees have been stealing county gasoline and/or diesel for use in their personal vehicles.

A commander in the Highlands County Sheriff's Office confirmed that an investigation into reported thefts of county gasoline and/or diesel is under way, but provided no names or other details.

However, Highlands Today has obtained the county employee identification numbers of the employees under investigation.

Highlands County Administrator Michael Wright said he already knows that some of the incidents strongly appear to be theft cases, while in some of the other suspected thefts, the county employee was doing his or her job and was not taking fuel for their own personal use.

"I was informed of the investigation about 30 days ago, and I have not said anything about it because the sheriff asked me not to say anything until the sheriff's criminal investigation was completed," Wright said late Tuesday.

Wright said he complied with Sheriff Susan Benton's request to make sure he did not interfere with the criminal investigation.

"When the criminal investigation is completed, then I will take the appropriate disciplinary action," Wright said.

Wright added that when all the information is considered, including video of the suspected theft incidents and review of all the acts, some of the suspected thefts were not thefts at all.

"In some of the cases, the employee had a legitimate reason for putting gasoline into a can, and he or she did that as a legitimate part of their job," Wright said. "And in some of the cases, that was not the case, there was no legitimate reason to do that."

Wright said people who may learn that a particular person is a suspected gas thief should not make any judgment until all the facts of each incident are known

"This is an open investigation and so I cannot say anything further at this point in time," said Sheriff's Office Capt. Randy LaBelle after he confirmed the gas theft investigation.

However, at 11 a.m. Tuesday, Highlands Today made a public records request for two public records with information on the investigation into county workers stealing county fuel.

At about 4 p.m. Tuesday, the clerk of court's office handed over the first document, a five-page report titled "Fuel Usage Monitoring Report," dated June 17. The report documents not only allegations of employees stealing county fuel, but details nine specific dates, times and locations where county employees were observed doing what appeared to be stealing fuel.

That document was generated by Mary Wilson and several auditors whom she supervised in doing the original investigation into possible employee fuel theft that were first raised in an anonymous phone-call tip on March 25.

In addition to other types of investigative techniques, employees of the clerk of court's office staked out two of the county's gasoline and diesel terminals, in Sebring and in Avon Park.

The document records observations of apparent fuel theft by employees on six dates, and shows that five employees were involved in the nine incidents.

This report was turned over to the sheriff's office and was the beginning of the sheriff's office investigation. Bob Jameson of the clerk of court's office said this report is not, by itself, evidence. Jameson said the report is information compiled by the clerk of court's staff which was forwarded to law enforcement.

While the staff does not give the names of the five suspects, it identifies them by their employee numbers.

The second public record that Highlands Today requested is a video which was produced by the clerk of court's investigators and turned over to the sheriff's office with the "Fuel Usage Monitoring Report."

According to staff in the clerk of court's office, investigators watched the two county fuel depots and reported seeing what looked like theft and videotaped it.

Dates and times of the suspected fuels thefts, some or all of which are videotaped, are: 11:06 a.m. May 27; 10:04 a.m. May 29; and 7:55 a.m. June 17 at the county's Sebring fuel depot; and, at the Avon Park fuel depot, at 3:04 p.m. June 6; 2:12 p.m. June 10; 3:31 p.m. June 10; and 1:09 a.m. June 13.

Jim Konkoly can be reached at 863-386-5855 or by e-mail at jkonkoly@highlandstoday.com

Share this:

Loading Comments...

Email Print

ADVERTISEMENT