APS is paying who knows what, to a company called SilentWhistle as an integral part of its Fraud, Waste, and Abuse Hotline.
The whole thing is a fraud;
deceit, deliberate trickery, perpetuated to gain some unfair or dishonest advantage, calculated to deceive another, a misrepresentation of some material fact that is made with knowledge of its falsity, or in reckless disregard of its truth.
APS, in the December Perspective, promised stakeholders that "unethical" behavior could be reported to SilentWhistle, with the implied promise that complaints would see a principled resolution.
Instead, we find that SilentWhistle is nothing more than a mailbox which forwards complaints to those against whom the complaints are made.
I made a legitimate regarding Winston Brooks' unethical refusal to be held honestly accountable to ethical standards of conduct; specifically that he refuses to be held honestly accountable as a role model of APS' Student Standards of Conduct; a nationally recognized, accepted and respected code of ethical conduct.
SilentWhistle forwarded the complaint to Margret Koshmider, APS Director of Internal Audit. She disposed of the complaint unethically; without due process.
I filed a complaint against her with SilentWhistle. SilentWhistle sent my complaint directly to the person against whom I made the complaint. She claims, in a letter to SilentWhistle, that she forwarded the complaint to her "supervisor". I asked her to identify her supervisor, and she is yet to respond.
I suspect that she reports to Winston Brooks, which means; my complaint that she did not afford due process to a complaint against Winston Brooks, was forwarded to Winston Brooks. If that is true, then Winston Brooks will decide if a complaint against him was properly dismissed or not.
APS School Board Policy prohibits creating the "appearance of a conflict of interest".
This goes way beyond the "appearance" of a conflict of interest, it is a conflict of interest.
APS' Fraud, Waste, and Abuse Hotline, is a fraud. It is also a waste. It is also an abuse of the public trust.
And we still don't know how much taxpayer unwitting support of "education", is being spent to perpetuate the fraud. It could be thousands, it could be tens of thousands of dollars.
I suspect that at least two candidates for the school board would take issue with this fraud.
They would take issue publicly,
if only the Journal did that kind of thing.
5 comments:
http://www.abqjournal.com/upfront/05117405645upfront01-05-09.htm
General Information
Case ID: 5598f958-8562-dab5
Submitted: Sunday, January 4, 2009
Type: Fraud/Waste & Abuse
Company: Albuquerque Public Schools
Name: Joseph Lopez
Case Questions
Please identify the person(s) involved in this incident, including names, title(s) and location (if known):
APS Administrators and Board Members Approving Contracts with Lawyers
Do you believe that management is aware of this problem?
Yes
When (approximately) did this incident occur?
Ongoing
How long has this incident been occurring?
More than a year
How did you become aware of this situation?
Other:
Please specify:
Any contracts over 10 thousand dollars are usually taken to bid. How is it that Modrall Law Firm is able to ignore requests from the public regarding how they continue to get the contracts with no RFP, and also refuse to say how much is spent on litigation by APS through them?
What is the approximate financial impact of this incident?
More than $100,000
Does this incident involve any outside parties (accounting/auditing firm, supplier/vendor, etc.)?
Yes
Please explain:
APS brings in about a Billion dollars a year, if even a small portion of that is being illegally diverted to contractors with no Request for Proposal, and if those contractors are relatives or married to those making the decisions to give them contracts, then there is a problem that should be investigated, if it is not already.
Do you believe that anyone has taken steps to hide this incident?
Yes
Please explain:
Modrall Law Firm refuses to say how much money APS pays them per year, and how much has been spent in deending employees like Gil Lovato, who illlegaly used FBI computers without authorization to run Triple I checks.
How was access to the asset and/or system obtained?
Via nepotism and ignoring contract statutes for purchasing services.
What happened? Please provide any further details that will help management investigate and resolve this incident:
Modrall makes a lot of money from APS, they won't tell the public how much they are paid, and the public has a right to know even if they won't itemize how much was paid for each case, they can give a number on total costs.
What would be the best way, in your opinion, to resolve this concern?
Have Communications release the amounts of money spent on various law firms, and start a request for propsal process that makes relatives of those who would profit unable to vote, and once a person who is in a position to influence the hiring of lawyer contractors sees a conflict, that contractor should be ineligible for further business past the current contract period. For instance, law firms with lawyers related or married to Paula Maes should not be considered for business. I understand that she profits personally when APS awards lawyer contracts to her husband's law firm, Modrall.
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SilentMessage Board
Date Message
Monday, January 5, 2009 at 1:48 PM by Albuquerque Public Schools Mr. Lopez, the Internal Audit Dept. has a previously scheduled meeting regarding a related issue and your concerns will be discussed at this meeting. We will keep you informed as to the direction of this investigation. Typically we allow 2 weeks for investigating a SilentWhistle; however, the meeting is scheduled for later in the month and this necessitates a longer period of time.
Wednesday, January 7, 2009 at 8:58 AM by Joseph Lopez Thank you, I hope you all have a great New Year.
Please also note that I have been thoroughly harassed, disabled and falsely investigated and arrested for merely trying to use the whilsteblowing process and report felony crimes. APS has done a really poor job of keeping track of my whereabouts and safety after I risked my life to bring this information to Allen Wesson and Bob Casey.
APS should truly protect those who risk their jobs and lives to do the right thing. People who use positions of power to enrich themselves past the amount of legitimate salary need to be watched and disciplined, and investigated and arrested when their illegal actions are brought up by competent people with evidence.
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Saturday, January 10, 2009 at 8:43 PM by Joseph Lopez
I offer this to show a similar case to the Modrall/Maes dynamic that subverts procurement codes and benefits those making decisions or those who influence the decisions financially:
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Friday, January 9, 2009, 12:14pm EST
Former Commissioner McCarty faces fraud charges
South Florida Business Journal
Former Palm Beach County Commissioner Mary McCarty was charged Friday with mail and wire fraud conspiracy as part of a federal corruption investigation.
McCarty, the fifth Palm Beach County politician to face jail time in recent years, earlier this week confessed to accepting free or discounted stays at resort hotels. She also admitted to taking part in county decisions that benefited her and her husband, a former South Florida water manager.
Her husband, Kevin McCarty, also has been charged for allegedly not reporting her crimes. He could face up to three years in prison she could face up to five years.
From 1998 to 2000, Mary McCarty voted to approve Raymond James as the underwriter of 11 bond issues, totaling $150 million, while her husband worked for the firm, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Florida said.
Investigators said McCarty started abstaining from votes involving Raymond James in 2001 to avoid disclosing the financial interest she and her husband had.
In 2002, Kevin McCarty left to work for Bear Stearns, another bond underwriter, and told his new bosses that he was "highly confident" he could get Palm Beach County School Board business – even though Bear Stearns had lost out to Raymond James earlier, the U.S. Attorney's Office said.
The office then outlines how the two firms ultimately split business involving the county and school board.
Raymond James resigned the school board account in May 2002, and the board transferred underwriting to Bear Stearns, the U.S. Attorney's Office stated. Bear Stearns underwrote a $93 million bond.
A Raymond James official told his supervisor later on that he would be meeting with McCarty at Bear Stearns to discuss Raymond James becoming one of the county commission's bond underwriters, the U.S. Attorney's office states.
In December, Mary McCarty named Raymond James as a county bond underwriter without disclosing her husband's interest in the appointment, the U.S. Attorney's Office said.
Raymond James subsequently received more than $282.45 million in underwriting business from the county commission, while Bear Stearns received $506.71 million, the U.S. Attorney's Office said.
The U.S. Attorney's Office also said Mary McCarty failed to disclose gifts and gratuities, such as free lodging or heavily discounted room rates at Sunset Key Guest Cottages in Key West and other properties owned by Ocean Properties.
The office outlined a similar pattern involving bond issues for the city of Delray Beach.
In her resignation letter to fellow Commissioner Jeff Koons, McCarty said that, at the time, she “rationalized” her actions and didn’t see any ethical dilemma.
In retrospect, she realized what she did was wrong, McCarty wrote in her resignation.
"What disheartens me, perhaps as much as the shame I have brought down upon myself, is the continuation of scrutiny that I have brought to the Palm Beach County Commission.”
Attorney Richard Lubin of Lubin and Metz in West Palm Beach is reportedly representing Kevin McCarty, but was in a meeting and could not immediately be reached for comment.
Attorney J. David Bogenschutz of Bogenschutz & Dutko in Fort Lauderdale is representing Mary McCarty, but attended a hearing in Tampa Friday morning and could not immediately be reached for comment
(Specific Statutes violated, in my opinion, by the Modrall-Maes relationship, annotated on existing open Silent Whistle complaint -)
Monday, January 12, 2009 at 6:35 PM by Joseph Lopez
This section of the procurement code seems to have been violated in the Modrall - Maes nepotism based procurement fraud we see with the perpetual Modrall contract for services with APS sans competitive bidding, and the firm being unwilling to reveal how much APS pays it per year even after legal requests for information were submitted per the IPRA law:
13-1-30. Application of the code.
A. Except as otherwise provided in the Procurement Code [13-1-28 NMSA 1978], that code shall apply to every expenditure by state agencies and local public bodies for the procurement of items of tangible personal property, services and construction. That code also applies to concession contracts at the New Mexico state fair in excess of twenty thousand dollars ($20,000), whether those concession contracts generate revenue and earnings or expand funds.
B. When a procurement involves the expenditure of federal funds, the procurement shall be conducted in accordance with mandatory applicable federal law and regulations. When mandatory applicable federal law or regulations are inconsistent with the provisions of the Procurement Code, compliance with federal law or regulations shall be compliance with the Procurement Code.
This section specifically states that School Boards must follow the procurement code:
22-5-4. Local school boards; powers; duties.
J. except for expenditures for salaries, contract for the expenditure of money according to the provisions of the Procurement Code [13-1-28 NMSA 1978];
I sent this to Mrs. Maes at the email address listed on her website, along to the Journal and Channel 13. Also the emails listed for the school cops. Reed, Tellez, Gallegos, all the investigators (including one lady cop) and the two top men at the APS Police have been informed via email. This in addition to the Internal Auditor already knowing via Silent Whistle.
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Mrs. Maes;
Do you find the following story to be similar to the situation that
you and your husband are in?
What bids for proposal have been done for continuing lawyer services
for APS? How is it that Modrall Law Firm will not release how much is being paid to them by APS, even after IPRA requests have been
submitted by more than one person, all of the legal information
requests not complied with? How much money do you make personally by having the ability to steer business to Modrall with no Requests for Proposals?
Art Melindres legally exempted APS from the system that the rest of the State uses for Risk Services, with the idea that it would save APS money, yet Modrall will not release the statistics on how much APS pays them. How can the public know if their money is being better spent with this exemption, how can they compare to how the rest of the state schools when we do not have access to how much is being paid for legal services?
The law exempting APS from the rest of the State does not to my knowledge give Modrall Law Firm the right to get continued business
with no RFPs (request for proposals), it merely says that APS may hire their own lawyers or contract with those other than those who get the State contract for other schools.
Thank you for your time, I look forward to your reply.
With Sincere Regards for the Financial Well being of APS and Revealing Fraud and Graft,
Joseph Lopez
(former APS Police dispatcher, officer and sergeant and Risk
Management safety specialist, former JeffCo Schools security
supervisor, former Charter Vocational security, risk and safety officer. Whistleblower on Danny Moon case, disabled.)
Friday, January 23, 2009 at 12:55 PM by Albuquerque Public Schools
APS has contracts with 3 law firms. All 3 were awarded one year extensions through August 2009. The District used the RFP process when seeking this service. All documentation was reviewed and the process appears to have been properly followed. Mrs. Maes excused herself during the Board meetings when they were dealing with legal issues as noted in the Board meeting minutes. Request for information on legal fees paid by APS may be requested via the Communications Department. The individual law firms are private companies and are not obligated to provide that information. This SilentWhistle is closed.
Wednesday, February 4, 2009 at 9:29 AM by Joseph Lopez
thank you for the information. Which law firms are the ones that got the contracts, and what are their addresses so I may request information from them? May I see the documentation that proves the procurement process was followed?
What has been done to insure that conflicts of interest do not occur? What has been done to make sure that the fees paid to contract lawyers are saving APS money, since APS is self-insured and is exempt from the rest of the state's school risk services for the very purpose of saving money?
How much did APS spend on lawyers last year?
thank you
Wednesday, February 4, 2009 at 9:44 AM by Joseph Lopez
Who has had the contract since August of 2009, or is APS presently using lawyer services that it has not contracted for?
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