Report to Mayor and City Council
Wednesday, June 08, 2016
Discussion
SUBJECT:
Title
REPORT ON FRAUD HOTLINE INVESTIGATION AND OPTIONS FOR UPDATING THE FRAUD HOTLINE AND DEVELOPING A FRAUD, WASTE, AND ABUSE POLICY (CITY COUNCIL)
Body
I. SUMMARY
At a City Council meeting in October, 2015, then-Councilwoman Lula Davis-Holmes informed the Council and the public that she had received copies of some anonymous complaints made about her through the City's fraud hotline. This event raised questions about who had disclosed the information to the Councilwoman and whether such person had done anything improper in disclosing the information. This event also raised further questions about whether the hotline was functioning as intended and whether it needed to be restructured to better serve its intended purpose.
Since the receipt of the complaint, the allegations against the Mayor Pro Tem have been investigated and resolved.
In response to this event, the City hired a private investigator to investigate who had disclosed the confidential report to the Mayor Pro Tem. Following the investigation, the investigator concluded that "the preponderance of the evidence is inconclusive." Consequently, there has been no determination of who disclosed the report to the Mayor Pro Tem.
Another issue, however, arose during the course of the investigation concerning the truth of City Treasurer Monica Cooper's testimony during the investigation. Following the full investigation, the investigator concluded: "The preponderance of the evidence shows that Ms. Monica Cooper made false and/or misleading statements during the course of an official administrative investigation." Before making his conclusion, the investigator gave Ms. Cooper an opportunity to meet with him to explain inconsistencies in her prior statements, admit or deny culpability, and clarify or put into context information that had come to light in investigation, but Ms. Cooper declined the meeting.
A review of t...
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