New charge added against ex-county health officials

A new charge has been added to the case against two former Lake County Health Department officials charged with collecting pay for hours they did not work.

Thomas Job, 65, and Thomas Morelli, 59, pleaded not guilty to computer fraud Tuesday in Lake County Circuit Court.

The two were previously charged with theft of government property and official misconduct in a scheme prosecutors contend netted them $86,500 over two years.

Job, of Spring Grove, was the rehabilitation coordinator in the addictions treatment program. Morelli, of Highland Park, served as the detoxification coordinator in the same program.

Assistant State's Attorney Matthew Demartini said the pair devised a method to circumvent the time-keeping function of the access cards employees used to enter and leave the offices on Grand Avenue in Waukegan.

In doing so, Demartini said, Morelli was able to collect $46,619 in pay for hours he did not work, while Job was overpaid $39,875.

Demartini said the new charge alleges the men used county computers to advance the scheme.

Other health department officials discovered the scheme last August, and the two men were placed on administrative leave. Both are no longer employed by the county, a health department spokesman said.

The new charge carries a maximum penalty of seven years in prison, while the theft charge carries a maximum of 15 years and official misconduct is punishable by up to three years.

Probation is a sentencing option in all three crimes.

Both men are free on bond. Morelli is scheduled to appear in court April 15, while Job is due to return April 19.