From the NY Post:
The feds have launched a criminal probe into allegations — first reported by The Post — that city sanitation workers conspired to paralyze the Big Apple during last week’s blizzard with a potentially deadly job slowdown, authorities confirmed yesterday.
The feds "want to get to the bottom of the matter," said Steven Stites, spokesman for City Councilman Dan Halloran (R-Queens), who has met with whistleblowers from the Sanitation and Transportation departments and huddled with a federal prosecutor yesterday.
The explosive investigation, led by the Brooklyn US Attorney's Office, is looking into whether Sanitation bosses plotted to thwart cleanup efforts in Brooklyn and Queens to protest budget and staff cuts by Mayor Bloomberg.
The probers also are looking at whether some workers defrauded taxpayers by padding their overtime pay, which could result in mail- or wire-fraud charges.
The Brooklyn and Queens district attorneys yesterday confirmed that they, too, are investigating the scandal.
Brooklyn prosecutors are specifically eyeing video posted on YouTube that appears to show sanitation crews relaxing for hours at a Dunkin' Donuts on Monday night of last week when they were supposed to be clearing streets.
The authorities must first determine whether any laws were broken, sources said. If so, they'd forward the case to an appropriate agency, which could be the FBI, the federal Department of Labor or others, the sources said.
Meanwhile, the city Medical Examiner's Office is investigating whether the blizzard was directly responsible for any deaths.
21 comments:
I wonder if City Councilman Dan Halloran will be able to produce these "guilt ridden" workers? I highly doubt it but we'll see.
I think they absolutely should do this. I think incompetence, low-staffing levels due to layoffs and end of year vacations, and cheap equipment was to blame.
If this is so, they need to stop scapegoating workers. If not, well, remember the Taylor Law?
These stories about federal investigations never answer the obvious question: what federal laws could have been broken?
Try reading the story:
"The probers also are looking at whether some workers defrauded taxpayers by padding their overtime pay, which could result in mail- or wire-fraud charges."
That's federal.
"The probers also are looking at whether some workers defrauded taxpayers by padding their overtime pay, which could result in mail- or wire-fraud charges."
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Oh good, Big Brother stepping in. THIS should be beneficial to society.
Iasn't it interesting that it's always the Feds that do these types of investigation -whether a crooked politician (eg Brian McLoughlin, etc.) or now the saniations workers, but rarely, in not never,the State district attorneys.
Take an oxygen tank and inhale very deeply. Now sit down and hold your breath until next year when the feds will refer two DOS employees for prosecution (the only two who it was proven did anything wrong), the prosecutor will agree to a plea bargain containing minimal jail time, the DOS employees will submit their papers for full retirement and live happily every after, our tax money paying for their creature comforts to the end of their days.
Meanwhile a year later the post, daily news, nyt etc will run an article that will reveal the that the federal investigation codenamed DOS Blizzard 2010 cost over $50 million and that half the investigators either padded their overtime pay or billed expenses from strip clubs to their government credit cards.
At that point you can safely breath normally again.
By the way, another 3 to 5 inch snowstorm is due for tomorrow. Let's hope we don't get another 30 inches since the last one was supposed to be 6 inches too.
Why bother?
Blame George W. Bush!!!
Too bad they don't jump in that quickly to investigate Wall Street.
the last one was supposed to be 6 inches too.
I can handle 6 inches!
By all means, nail all those guilty DOS asses to a wall....BUT REMEMBER....Bloomberg is NYC's mayor.
In the final analysis...he's the one that bears the full responsibility for this whole damn debacle!
LET'S START A MOVEMENT TO RECALL OUR ELITIST, UNCARING, INCOMPETENT, DEMAGOGUE OF A MAYOR!
LET'S START A MOVEMENT TO RECALL OUR ELITIST, UNCARING, INCOMPETENT, DEMAGOGUE OF A MAYOR!
I'll second that!
LET'S START A MOVEMENT TO RECALL OUR ELITIST, UNCARING, INCOMPETENT, DEMAGOGUE OF A MAYOR!
How about going after city council? They told us he was great. They helped overturn term limits. They told us we can take another million. They had a big hand in gutting the budget and services from snow removal to hospitals to sustain the building boom.
They are just as guilty as he.
i want the plow shovel raiser that did not do his job on my block ,fired and forced to return his paycheck for "theft of services" ,on tue. 10pm in Bayside,north to the l.i.r.r.
sure bayside, go after the small fry. that'll change things.
Sanitation has always done a good job.Ya gotta remember the100 supervisors that were scheduled to be demoted.You really think they were going to do a great job? And now that they have been demoted,do you think the supervisrs that are left will be able to do the job now that they have 2-3 times more personnel to supervise? Do more with less....catchy phrase....doesn't work.
Every council person should hold a hearing in their own district, have to sit there through the whole thing, and then provide detailed written answers to each constituent's issue within 10 days. Let them stop posturing and provide real answers.
"i want the plow shovel raiser that did not do his job on my block"
That story was all too familiar in many areas of Queens. Trucks rolling past snow covered blocks, at night, over and over with there shovels up. I can't tell you how many countless trucks I saw in different areas of Queens with drivers sitting in there trucks doing nothing. I don't own a video camera; otherwise I would have recorded this myself. I think the new tracking devices they are putting on trucks is a great idea, although I suspect some drivers will sabotage them.
The sabotage story just doesn't hold up. Why would the rank and file get all riled up about supervisors being demoted? They couldn't care less. The issue is that the city's leadership didn't declare a snow emergency so that DSNY and the MTA and EMS could properly prepare. And they didn't do that because they all were AWOL. Bloomturd and all of the Deputy Mayors should be impeached and sued.
Dan Halloran had to give someone up at his hearing the other day, OR risk being held in contempt. SO; who does he give up? Those 2 sanititation workers that confided in him because he seems like such a trustworthy sole???? NO, NO and NO. He gives up a single DOT employee. A DOT employee that was having a conversation on HIS lunch break. Speaking informally, and without the "matter of fact" tone. They were shooting the breeze, and what he said was WHAT anyone else in his district would have said if you asked them...."yea, looks like something is going on...looks like a slowdown to me". This person had no inside knowledge of this. The only people that would have had some inside knowledge would have been the supervisors themselves and they wouldnt have spoken to trusy DAN. What a real piece of )*@$#. WE NEED A NON-POLITICIAN! SOMEONE who has'nt made a career out of this.
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