Former Lake County official gets probation in pay scheme

The second former Lake County Health Department official charged with collecting pay for hours he did not work pleaded guilty Tuesday in Lake County Circuit Court.

Richard Morelli, 60, of Highland Park, pleaded guilty to misdemeanor theft immediately after repaying $46,619 as part as a plea negotiation with prosecutors.

He also pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of driving under the influence of marijuana stemming from an arrest April 30 of this year by Deerfield police.

In addition to making full restitution, Morelli was placed on probation for 18 months and was ordered to perform 200 hours of public service.

Morelli and Thomas Job, 67, both of whom worked in the Addictions Treatment Program division of the department, devised a way to manipulate an electronic time-keeping system.

By falsifying records generated when employees use access cards to enter and leave the department's offices on Grand Avenue in Waukegan, the men were able to make it appear they were in the building and on the job at times they were not.

An investigation by the Lake County state's attorney's office determined that during about two years, Job collected $39,875 he did not earn and Morelli got $46,619.

Both were placed on administrative leave when the scheme was uncovered in August 2009, and both left the department shortly before they were formally charged in January 2010.

In February of this year, Job, of Spring Grove, pleaded guilty to felony theft.

After prosecutors described him as the architect of the scheme, Job was sentenced to spend a year in jail when he is not working or attending mental health counseling.

Job was also ordered to make full restitution and was fined an additional $25,000.

In addition to the sentence on the theft charge, Morelli was placed on 18 months of court supervision for the DUI conviction and was ordered to pay $1,189 in court costs.