Metra works on cleaning house
Staff of the Metra inspector general - recently hired to check any wrongdoing following a financial scandal - are investigating 33 allegations of misconduct.
Metra appointed the firm Hillard Heintze May 26 at an hourly rate of $358 to act as its interim inspector general. The action came after former Executive Director Phil Pagano committed suicide in the midst of a probe that concluded he wrongfully obtained more than $475,000 in vacation pay advances.
Partner Arnette Heintze told Metra board directors Friday staff members were following up on 22 new tips as well as 11 passed on by Metra Chairman Carole Doris. The allegations include claims of fraud, waste, mismanagement, abuse of power, misconduct and wrongdoing.
People with concerns about improprieties can call a confidential hotline at (877) 482-4962 or e-mail MetraIG@hillardheintze.com.
A Metra investigation found that Pagano had improperly obtained the vacation payouts for more than a decade. Pagano forged Doris' signature on a form allowing the advances and the deception continued for years without anyone realizing it. He also received 11 weeks of vacation, contrary to company policy allowing only five weeks, and had borrowed so much from a $1 million executive compensation program and life insurance policy that he owed Metra about $127,000.
Metra directors voted to hire the accounting firm of Blackman Kallick to scrutinize the agency's operating procedures to see what went wrong and recommend future steps to avoid the abuses that occurred during Pagano's tenure. Metra officials acknowledged that the trust they placed in Pagano - a highly regarded CEO - and his broad executive powers contributed to the abuses.
Blackman Kallick's hourly fees range from $290 for services of a senior partner to $98 for those of a staff consultant. The work could also involve a forensic audit.
Directors also told Acting Executive Director Bill Tupper to give them a monthly report listing any increases in salaries, benefits, retirement plans and special compensation programs.
Director William Widmer said he wanted to know about such changes in advance instead of when they're already done.
"If the executive director were to authorize ludicrous increases and give employees 16-week vacations, our only option would be to terminate the executive director," Widmer said.
But others said the monthly reports were a good start and noted that they may make other reforms after Blackman Kallick completes its recommendations.