200 Letters Sent, Mostly to NY Lawyers, Whose Dual Service Raises ‘Red Flags’

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200 Letters Sent, Mostly to NY Lawyers, Whose Dual Service Raises ‘Red Flags’

Posted Jul 15, 2008, 03:27 pm CDT
By Molly McDonough

Concerned that professionals are double-dipping into public payrolls, New York's Attorney General Andrew Cuomo has sent 200 letters throughout the state letting individuals know that their employment arrangements have raised "red flags" to investigators and may be improper.

Newsday reports that more than half the letters went to lawyers and seek detailed information about jobs and benefits since 2000.

"We have found waste, fraud and abuse in all corners of the state regarding public benefits improperly awarded to outside consultants. This is a significant step in the expansion of the investigation," Cuomo's spokesman John Milgrim is quoted saying.

Investigators are reportedly focusing on workers who appear on multiple public payrolls and who have private businesses or employment in addition to their public jobs.

A statewide investigation of double-dipping was launched after Newsday reported in February on the matter of Lawrence Reich, who was listed as a full-time employee for five school districts. Reich said at the time that he did nothing wrong and that his billing arrangements were common.

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Posted by kay sieverding - 1 month, 3 weeks, 1 day, 7 hours, 30 minutes ago

What do you think of attorneys who work for governments and also take jobs from the public for related matters or parties that might have business before the government? I am specifically thinking about part time city attorneys who also have a general practice.
Posted by kay sieverding - 1 month, 3 weeks, 1 day, 42 minutes ago

There is more than one issue raised here: There is “fraud and waste” and there is “abuse”.

Lot’s of people w full time jobs also have part time jobs. Some people even sell products such as Amway or Discovery Toys at work.

Do these New York workers have employment contracts that prohibit outside employment?
Posted by anonymous - 1 month, 3 weeks, 1 day, 39 minutes ago

I worked at a state agency. A guy there had a real estate business he ran from the office. I was just a summer intern but it was obvious. My boss said he had to do it because he had 11 kids. I thought it was weird but obviously he knew someone.
Posted by Paladover - 1 month, 2 weeks, 6 days, 21 hours, 53 minutes ago

I once worked in a government office in the 1980s where there was a lady who did virtually nothing all day. I saw her leaning her chair back all day looking under her desk. I discovered she had a television under her desk that she watched soap operas all afternoon on.She came in late, took 3 hour lunches, and left promptly at 4 pm. When she came back from a 3 week vacation, she worked for all of about 1 1/2 hours and cleaned up all of the backlog, and went back to doing nothing. Her boss never stood up to her. That is abuse. Needless to say, this lazy woman went off on a public pension, where all of us are subsidizing her to sit on her keester, watching soap operas.
Posted by bobie ray - 1 month, 2 weeks, 6 days, 20 hours, 9 minutes ago

put them in jail - end the abusive practices
Posted by Diamond Jim - 1 month, 2 weeks, 6 days, 18 hours, 33 minutes ago

I thought Spitzer was the only NY lawyer who was double dipping?
Posted by kay sieverding - 1 month, 2 weeks, 6 days, 18 hours, 19 minutes ago

In Colorado, the rules of professional practice prohibit successive government and business related employment without the permission of the government. I think that means successive days as well as successive months.
Posted by Chris M - 1 month, 2 weeks, 6 days, 12 hours, 11 minutes ago

From what I understand, there is nothing patently improper about independent counsel accruing benefits while working for government, say, a school district. But as with most things, it seemed to get a bit out of hand, ie, stating that you are a full time employee of five school districts.
Posted by RHG - 1 month, 2 weeks, 6 days, 12 hours ago

The problem is with claiming to be an employee. If you are doing more than 50% time (e.g., 20 hours per week), then you are an employee and should get benefits despite working part time somewhere else. If you are working for five companies, then you cannot be full time at any of them. If there is an issue with benefits where you are really full time, but not at any of the companies, then you have to work out an agreement where one of the five gives the benefits and the others contribue (e.g., a borrowed employee arrangment). Getting a pension for an average of 8 hours per week is ridiculous. Getting five is just mind boggling.
Posted by anonymous - 1 month, 2 weeks, 5 days, 14 hours, 51 minutes ago

What do you think of this scenario:

A part time government attorney gets over 50K annually from a small city while also operating a private local practice. A private developer builds the third golf course in a a city of 10,000 people. There is already a public course and the new course is expensive. The golf course raises the value of adjoining new spec homes owned by related parties. The golf course is represented by the partner of the city attorney. He goes to the city and asks them to guarantee the debt of the golf course because it will increase sales tax revenues by drawing tourists. The part time city attorney recommends this and it is approved. Then the city buys the golf course, apparently because they have already guaranteed the debt. The partner of the city attorney and a bunch of rich people and pols on its board then get free golf memberships in return for their monthly attendance at free dinners to discuss golf course operations. In the same small city, the obligation to see that the city complies with its own, state and federal laws, is assigned to the “assistant city attorney”. She says, informally, that the city attorney is “the front man”.

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