There are around 10 additional Employees still working for the County in which Rick Pollitt stated very clearly today and a Press Conference, "These people will be fired!"
They started off calling it the Landfill Scandal. Davis Ruark stated the $430,000.00 stolen actually came to around $300,000.00 from Ray Lewis and others. There's around $100,000.00+ that was stolen by other County Employees STILL WORKING FOR THE COUNTY. These Employees will be terminated within the next few days but they couldn't release names at this point and time due to personnel laws.
I brought up several questions referencing Mr. Rai Sharma and his liability/responsibility to the thefts, since he kind of walked out flying under the radar. I felt it was important for taxpayers to have closure to this case as well as where things stand with Mr. Sharma. Rick & Davis both expressed how no one involved ever said that Rai had his hands in it or had any knowledge to any of the thefts. I asked, as a businessman, if I had lost $400,000.00, I would know it right away. Was there a significant amount of fuel increases from one year to the next in which Rai should have noticed? Davis replied, YES. I then said, are we talking double, perhaps triple the amount of fuel from one year to the next? Davis replied, at least double. He added that Mr. Sharma was responsible for that department and should have known about it. Mind you, this had been going on for 3 to 4 years.
I then asked Mr. pollitt, the taxpayers want some kind of accountability and there doesn't seem to be real closure here. What, if anything will happen to Mr. Sharma? He replied, Mr. Sharma ultimately sacrificed his job. Rick went on to explain how he wanted every County Employee to know that if they see any other suspicious activity to please come directly to him personally and he will handle it right away. The County plans on creating a Hot Line for Employees to call in tips as well.
Hopefully in the near future we can provide the names of those individuals that were terminated from the County. These are individuals that stole fuel, many of which had purchased diesel trucks and regularly filled their tanks for free. Or should I say, at taxpayers expense.
Is Ruark seeking criminal charges against the employees?
ReplyDeleteKnowing they stole and proving it in a court of law are 2 different things.
ReplyDeleteMany, if not all, have already admitted to stealing.
ReplyDelete4:49
ReplyDeleteare you answering 4:40's question? are they going to be charged criminally?
Do we know what kind of items were stolen besides fuel? I heard they went to employees homes and retrieved items, one of them being Sharma.
ReplyDeleteanonymous 4:57, no, they will simply be fired.
ReplyDeleteThere was nothing found at Rai Sharma's home, that a lie.
ReplyDeleteHow can only 5 of the now totaling 15 people be prosecuted? I understand losing your job can be devastating but come on. What is fair about that? Remember anything stolen over $500 is a felony. If this has been going on for 3 or 4 years as stated, I am sure these other 10 took more than $500 over that amount of time. There are plenty of people that need jobs right now so I am sure it would not take long to replace them.
ReplyDeleteok if Sharma is to be held accountable then so should Ricky boy because i heard him with my own ears on the Bill Reddish show say that he oversaw everything at the county and nothing went on without his consent. so why then is he not being held accountable? How did he not know? He has been in that ofice long enough to know what is and was going on. How can that much of a jump in fuel and nobody question it? As far as my concern he needs to be voted out come election day. This is all a crock of crap the main contenders get away with it and now to act like something was done about it, it will be made to look like these few did a lot(the ones getting ready to be fired). How many of you havent taken something from work? If they admitted to taking something why not fire them right then and there or bring them up on charges right then? Rick is running scared from election day so now he wants you people to think he is concerned about your our tax money....a load of crap. People take your blinders off we are again being bambuzzled.
ReplyDeleteThe BIG question is why haven't we seen any change in leadership in these departments. It seems that some new blood without any ties to this scandal should be brought in.Even if current leadership had nothing to do with the scandal they have proven they can't manage the employees or finances in the Public Works Divsion.The people in charge now worked directly for Mr.Sharma and I am sure helped him compile info needed for the departments budget. The landfill is a huge source of income for the county and should be managed as such. This issue really shows a clear lack of financial responsibility on Mr. Pollit's behave.
ReplyDeleteThey should be charged, make it clear that nobody steals from the taxpayers and goes scott free.
ReplyDeleteWhat about Sharma taking county equiptment and having work done at his church, or was that a rumor. If true, than that's stealing isn't it?
ReplyDeleteSharma may have sacrificed his job (overseeing 4 departments) but he didn't sacrifice his retirement that doubles what some county employees make a year. How is that a sacrifice?
ReplyDeleteGREAT QUESTION 7:39 PM
ReplyDeleteThere are alot of questions with management and leadership but nobody wants to do anything. The people working for the department heads can compile all the information for a department head for a budget, but it is up to the department head to use the numbers, and know how much money he/she has to work with. My question would be how much of this were people aware of even higher up. Were their hands in the cookie jar too? Although I am sure just the low guys on the totem pole will take the hit, I hear this thing was unbelievable. I also heard that when Ray's attorney started shedding some light on just how big this thing was, the judge was quick to hush him and hurry the case along. I dont know if anyone reading was in attendance and can confirm this, but this is what was explained to me. BTW, what is Mr. Shea's take on all of this? After all, before Mr. Pollitt was in and during the transition, Mr. Shea was the man, right? Shouldnt he have been aware? Maybe asked some questions? If you ask me, between Mr. Creamer, Mr. Shea, and Mr. Pollitt, we almost seem to have a duplication of services. Kind of like having a 2 cell phones and a land line. (expensive ones at that)I dont think you can blame Rick. He had alot to take in to just learn how the county operated, let alone be able to fully comprehend all the expenditures of each department. That is one problem with this new style of government. By the time the guy finally catches on to everything, it's about time for another election. I certainly didnt vote for an executive. Too much power for one person. Instead of 7 minds to convince, now you need just one. I keep hearing people say the public lost confidence with the council being in charge. Wouldnt it be harder for 7 people to push a particular agenda than 1? I guess we will never find out just how deep this thing ran, but I firmly believe peoples a$$es were being covered for. But back to 7:39, I do believe it is time to make some tough choices and make some management decisions, instead of allowing this good old boy network to continue like it is. I hope this employee "hotline" doesnt end up with a voicemail box that is full. I also hope that if someone exposes someone, even if they are "in the club", it will be handled.
Same kind of thing happens in (clears throat) "certain" other Shore counties as well.Every one of these additional people should be prosecuted for what they did.Sorry if I am harsh but being fired is just not punishment enough-they will just go on to get other jobs,possibly even stay with the county and just work for a different county dept.(sound familiar?)Stealing is stealing,regardless of whether it is blue collar,white collar or no collar.
ReplyDeleteI lost my job back in September and didn't steal anything. My bad!
ReplyDeleteWhy charge these guys! Look what happened to the ones that were charged NOTHING!!!!!
ReplyDeleteThis is just another joke on us.
Why in the H*** does it take a year to fire someone who stole? This is so typical for government. What a joke, including Ruark.
ReplyDeleteSalisbury just gives me that warm fuzzy feeling time and time again. You gotta love it!!!The good ole boys are patting eachother on the backs again! I think there's alot of behind the scenes favors going on as well.Would love to know how these theifs got away with no charges at all?
ReplyDeleteAre they in the Witness Protection program?
ReplyDeleteNow that I have said that, looking at it now, I don't expect an annoucement of that fact LoL
ReplyDeleteAs for the comments about Rick Pollit get real, he came into a corrupt setting. The good Ole Boy system is alive and well. This is the first time in many years that a group of locals was arrested for anything. If you are in you are in. Mike lewis and Rick Pollitt are cleaning the sh!t left behind by some crooked folks. I am happy to say there should and will be more of this if we can keep these two on the pay roll. We have what every town has some worked hard for theirs and some just stole it. It is in every county. If there is money involved someone is stilling it. I just hope this is a sign of the future and some good ole boy BS. All we have to do is look at all the people in this county living well above their means. If one thinks this dump group was bad we need to take a hard look at those responsible for bring the crime into our county. This is not in the literal sense, but those that finance the large stuff. It just seems we can not touch these criminals. Mike clean it up and keep your word to God and your troops. I know you will.
ReplyDeleteCorrect, had this problem occured here in the city the citizens would be left in the dark like mushrooms. Leave us in the dark and feed us crap.
ReplyDeleteI believe, though I know Mr. Sharma, since he had oversite supervisory control, he must be held accountable for the losses and required to pay something to set the record straight. If I were in charge and such thefts occurred, I would expect to go to jail with the thieves, since I allowed it to go on for 3 or four years, right under my nose!!!
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