Man Who Exposed The City Hall Cover Up of the Largest Corruption Scandal In City History, CityTime Still Being Ignored
Not One City Official or Lobbyists Has Been Charged
'EVERYONE KEPT THEIR EYES CLOSED': Man who says he publicly exposed Citytime scam and caused a probe wants his fair share of $500 million settlement (NYDN) A man who claims to have publicly exposed the $100 million Citytime scam nearly two years before officials started investigating the payroll project wants part of the contractor’s massive settlement with the city. Vinod Khurana, a 54-year-old software engineer who worked on CityTime, publicly blew the whistle on project managers’ dirty dealings in a Jan. 31, 2009, anonymous blog post, he told the Daily News in an exclusive interview. The project began in 1998 as a $63 million effort to bring the city’s payroll operation into the 21st century — but developers wound up treating “the city like their own giant ATM,” diverting millions to offshore bank accounts, prosecutors have said. Eight former officials of companies involved in the project have been convicted on fraud and bribery charges, and two more criminal cases are still pending.
Lobbyists "Consultants Were Allow to Run Rampant On the 911 Project" DOI
The main contractor, Science Applications International Corp. (SAIC), was eventually forced by federal prosecutors and the city in March 2012 to pay $500 million to avoid criminal indictment. “People did this for their own self-interest, and they got caught up in the money they were being paid, and they didn’t question it,” Khurana told The News. “Everyone kept their eyes closed.” Khurana worked on CityTime for Florida-based Spherion Corp., the so-called “quality assurance manager” that was supposed to oversee SAIC’s work on the system and track the billing. His job was to analyze the system’s performance. Khurana, who now lives in Texas , said he first raised questions internally in 2004. Spherion fired him in May 2007 — and Khurana felt it was directly related to his complaints about the project. Khurana sued Spherion in 2011 for unfair termination, as well as a piece of the $500 million SAIC settlement. He claims in the lawsuit that he’s entitled to part of the money for helping the city’s investigation. Spherion and the city counter that Khurana’s role in uncovering the fraud was limited at best — and that he’s motivated by greed. “Mr. Khurana’s claims lack factual and legal merit, and are categorically denied by Spherion,” attorney Rita Glavin of Seward & Kissel told The News.“There has been no wrongdoing by Spherion, and there is no legal basis for Mr. Khurana to seek payment,” she said.* Suzannah B. Troy artist: NYDN CityTime Article by GrayhamRayman Doesn't have my exclusive the CNN IReport
CityTime: Largest Scandal in City History
Almost Nobody Has Been Sent to Jail for the Largest Scandal in NYC History, CityTime
Cover-Up Flashbacks CityTime contractor to pay $500M in fraud - New York Daily News * Contractor in NYC's CityTimeScandal Avoids Prosecution with ... * Boss Tweed would be proud - New York Daily News * CityTime CNN I report Whistle blowing post that called them all out including Jelly Bean(Jan 2009) * Time-Out Proposed For CityTime System - City Limits Magazine(May 19, 2008)* City Council to probe CityTime; timekeeping and payroll system(Dec 18, 2009)
Holtzman and Other Lobbyist to CityTime Rip Off the City
Ms. Holtzman's lobbying firm was paid $120,000 in 2009, $90,000 in 2010, and $200,000 in 2011 by SAIC, the maker of CityTime, to lobby New York City politicians in order to keep NYC.gov paying CityTime's huge cost overruns. Eventually, it was estimated that SAIC over-billed New York City by $600 million, and Ms. Holtzman was one of the principal lobbyist being paid to keep that gravy train rolling. Her lobbying firm was paid $410,000 to keep the CityTime gravy train rolling into Ms. Holtzman's station. Holzman lobbied Borough President - Queens , NYC Council Members. Comptroller's Office, Office of Management & Budget (OMB), Office of The Mayor (OTM), Office of the Contract Service. The city's lobbying database shows a small army of former prominent city officials who did work for SAIC and Technodyne. Defense contractor SAIC has retained former City Comptroller Liz Holtzman, Peter Powers, who served as Mayor Giuliani's top deputy Mayor for operations, and Seth Kaye, who worked in both the Giuliani and Bloomberg administrations. Technodyne's lobbyists include former Bloomberg Department of Information Technology and Telecommunications Commissioner Gino Menchini and Agostino Cangemi, who also held key posts in both administrations. National Strategies, the lobbying firm that employs Menchini and Cangemi, says the firm had no role in CityTime and discontinued working "on general business procurement" for Technodyne as soon as the criminal allegations surfaced. (Another Technodyne lobbyist of record, Sal Salamone, was director of the Mayor’s Office of Computer Planning and has worked for SAIC.)
Not One City Official Went to Jail for the Largest Corruption Case In History, CityTime
CityTime scammer loses bid to overturn convictions (NYP) he mastermind behind the $100 million CityTimepayroll scam and his two cohorts lost their bid Monday to have their convictions overturned. A federal appeals court rejected Mark Mazer’s argument that the evidence was “insufficient” to prove that he had pocketed taxpayer funds through a kickback scheme while working on CityTime as a computer consultant. The panel also rejected similar arguments made by Mazer accomplices Dimitry Aronshtein, a CityTime subcontractor, and Gerard Denault, a project manager. They were convicted in 2013 of defrauding the $700 million project meant to modernize the city’s payroll system. Prosecutors said the men “treated the city like their own giant ATM machine.”* The mastermind of the $100 million CityTime payroll scam and his two cohorts lost their bid Monday to have their convictions overturned for pocketing taxpayer funds while working on CityTime as a computer consultant, the Post reports
Not On City Employee Charged In the Largest Scandal in City History
Three Family Members Get Off With No Jail TimeNo jail time for CityTime scammers(NYP) No jail time for these CityTime scammers who cost taxpayers hundreds of millions. The three family members of the convicted mastermind behind the colossal payroll-system scheme avoided being sent to the slammer at their sentencing Tuesday.Mark Mazer’s wife, Svetlana, his mother Larisa Medzon and cousin Anna Maiskovetskaya were each sentenced to three years probation and 200 hours of community service for helping Mazer launder $25 million in kickbacks from the taxpayer funded project to upgrade the city’s payroll system that ballooned in cost from $63 million to more than $700 million and fell years behind schedule under his watch. Medzon’s high-power attorney Benjamin Brafman said she was manipulated by her own son to partake as an “errand person” in the massive scheme.“She became a messenger for her son,” said Brafman. “To send your mother out every day to banks to bring you back money – it’s obscene.”Mazer, 50, of Manhasset, was found guilty in November of wire fraud, bribery, money laundering and other charges. His two trust accomplices, convicted on similar charges, a
Comptroller Reject DOITT IT Contracts
DOITT contract rejected four times over lack of transparency(NYP) City Comptroller Scott Stringer has rejected a Department of Information Technology and Telecommunications contract four times this year, saying there were no apparent safeguards on the vendor’s rates. “DOITT must be proactive in setting safeguards against overruns to truly change the way IT is done in New York City,” Stringer said of the DOITT’s proposed $30 million contract with Computer Aid Incorporated.
Biggest Scandal in NYC History
Three men involved in $100 million CityTime fraud sentenced to 20 years in prison.(NYDN) Gerard Denault, Mark Mazer and Dmitry Aronshtein were found guilty in November of siphoning away nearly $100 million associated with CityTime in a kickback and money laundering scheme. A Manhattan federal judge gave the men the maximum sentence for each count Monday, but will allow the sentences to be served concurrently, meaning each will spend about 20 years behind bars. Three men who "treated the city like their own giant ATM" by cheating the city out of millions of dollars on the costly CityTime project were sentenced to 20 years in prison Monday in a standing room only courtroom.* Three Men Sentenced to 20 Years in CityTime Scheme (NYT) Federal prosecutors said the defendants were responsible for more than $100 million in losses to New York City through the payroll modernization project.* CityTime head, accomplices sentenced to 20 years in prison (NYP)
"The
city did little to prevent their brazen schemes," Judge Daniels said,
calling the city's current contracting process an "invitation not just
for corruption but for waste and fraud." "Until significant reforms are
instituted ... criminal prosecutions of fraud against the city will
continue," the judge said. In November, a jury found the trio guilty of
siphoning away nearly $100
million associated with CityTime in a kickback and money laundering
scheme that Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara called "one of the
most brazen frauds" in city history. Mazer, 50, directed millions to
crooked staffing companies, then took kickbacks through overseas bank
accounts.
He
gobbled up about $30 million in just five years. Denault, 52, who
worked on CityTime as a bigwig with contractor S.A.I.C., had a similar
con. With Mazer and Denault running the show, the project, budgeted at
$63 million in 1998, ballooned to over $600 million.Denault took secret
cash kickbacks below a Manhattan massage parlor,
and defendants stored more than a million dollars in cash in safe
deposit boxes on Long Island, jurors heard in the month-long trial. In
all, eight people have been convicted in connection with the scam. Our Juan Gonzalez's column:
"By slapping stiff 20-year sentences on the main CityTime project
thieves, Manhattan Federal Judge George Daniels sent some clear messages
Monday to the burgeoning world of government computer contracts. First:
Crooked IT consultants can’t simply rip off taxpayers for millions of
dollars and then expect to get treated lightly. Second: City officials
failed miserably in doing oversight and need to revamp how they hold
their consultants accountable."
Mayor, Council, DOI Knew Since 2003 That Contract Was Corrupt . . . But Nothing Happened
Cover-Up
Flashbacks
CityTime contractor to pay $500M in fraud - New York Daily News * Contractor in NYC's CityTime Scandal Avoids Prosecution with ... * Boss Tweed would be proud - New York Daily News * CityTime CNN I report Whistle blowing post that called them all out including Jelly Bean(Jan 2009) * Time-Out Proposed For CityTime System - City Limits Magazine(May 19, 2008) * City Council to probe CityTime; timekeeping and payroll system(Dec 18, 2009) * Liu Crows as CityTime Investigation Widens(NYO) * Richard Valcich wrote a letter to SAIC complaining of waste and bloat in the main contract. In 2003 Valcich wrote: the city had spent "approximately $35 million on CityTime and does not have a tangible system to show for it. Ex-payroll boss blew whistle on CityTime in scathing 2003 letter and nothing was done(NYDN) * Letter found by Liu reveals shady CityTime job offer pitch in '02 from main contractor to Valcich.(NYDN) A second reason why the city knew was a CNN IRerort in 2009 by an anonymous city worker who said that the project was corrupt. 2 of the three people mentioned in the report have been indicted * Daily News' Juan Gonzalez published a report how several whistleblowers who when to DOI in 2008 to report corruption in the CityTime contract were ignored. * * $450 million scam couple flee before CityTime indictment(NYDN) * U.S. Attorney: CityTime Project "Corrupted To Its Core"(NY1) * The city official who was the project’s point person, Joel Bondy, resigned in December and had close ties to the suspected mastermind of the scheme* Clocking CityTime, the craziest contract ever | Crain's New York ...* Behind Troubled City Payroll Project, Lax Oversight and One Powerful Insider (NYT) *CityTime Scandal Contractors Tried to Hire City Critic (Village Voice)
CityTime, MTA and DOE Contract Scandal (True News)
Holtzman Should Give the City Her Lobbying Fees From From the Corrupt Citytime
Ms. Holtzman's lobbying firm was paid $120,000 in
2009, $90,000 in 2010, and $200,000 in 2011 by SAIC, the maker of
CityTime, to lobby New York City politicians in order to keep NYC.gov
paying CityTime's huge cost overruns. Eventually, it was estimated that
SAIC over-billed New York City by $600 million, and Ms. Holtzman was one
of the principal lobbyist being paid to keep that gravy train rolling.
Her lobbying firm was paid $410,000 to keep the CityTime gravy train
rolling into Ms. Holtzman's station. Holzman lobbied Borough
President - Queens, NYC Council Members. Comptroller's Office, Office
of Management & Budget (OMB), Office of The Mayor (OTM), Office
of the Contract Service. The city's lobbying database shows a small army
of former prominent
city officials who did work for SAIC and Technodyne. Defense contractor
SAIC has retained former City Comptroller Liz Holtzman, Peter Powers,
who served as Mayor Giuliani's top deputy Mayor for operations, and Seth
Kaye, who worked in both the Giuliani and Bloomberg administrations.
Technodyne's lobbyists include former Bloomberg Department of
Information Technology and Telecommunications Commissioner Gino Menchini
and Agostino Cangemi, who also held key posts in both administrations.
National Strategies, the lobbying firm that employs Menchini and
Cangemi, says the firm had no role in CityTime and discontinued working
"on general business procurement" for Technodyne as soon as the criminal
allegations surfaced. (Another Technodyne lobbyist of record, Sal
Salamone, was director of the Mayor’s Office of Computer Planning and
has worked for SAIC.)
_____________________________Holtzman Should Give the City Her Lobbying Fees From From the Corrupt Citytime
CityTime 3 Guilty - What Did the City Know?
The largest and most brazen fraud in city history.
The payroll management system, originally budgeted at $63 million, that ballooned to $700 million, thanks in part to millions in kickbacks.
3 Found Guilty in CityTime Corruption Trial (NYT) Mark Mazer, a former consultant to the city’s Office of Payroll
Administration, was convicted of fraud and other charges; he was accused
of taking about $30 million in kickbacks for steering work to favored
contractors on the project, called CityTime. Originally budgeted at $63 million, the cost of the project exploded to
about $700 million by 2011, with almost all of the more than $600
million that the city paid to the prime contractor, Science Applications
International Corporation, or S.A.I.C., “tainted, directly or
indirectly, by fraud,” an indictment charged.
More On CityTime Cover Up
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911 System Cost Overruns Fines No Legal Cases Again
911 System Cost Overruns Fines No Legal Cases Again
Verizon to Pay City for Cost Overruns(NYT) Verizon has agreed to pay New York City at least $50 million for falling
behind schedule in developing software for the new 911 system that then
failed to meet city standards. * Bloomberg, Liu agree on $50M Verizon settlement over 911 system work(NYDN)
Not On City Employee Has Been Indicted . . . Who Was Watching the Books for the City?
__________________________________________________________________________________
CityTime Trial
The CityTime Cover Up(True News) * Juror ‘flips the bird’ at CityTime payroll scam defendant(NYP) * Juror in Tussle Over Taxi Is Taken Off Fraud Case(NYT) Juror No. 5 in the CityTime trial, who clashed with a defendant over a cab, is said to have admitted reading an article about the case.
Bloomberg Unlikely to Testify In Citytime Trial
Strange Not One City Employee Has Been Charge With the CityTime Corruption, Now the Mayor May Not Testify. . . Not Getting to the Cause of the Biggest Scandal in NYC History
Judge George Daniels of Federal District Court indicated that he was unlikely to approve a defense lawyer’s request to have Mayor Michael Bloomberg testify as a witness in a fraud trial over New York City’s failed CityTime program, Bloomberg Is Unlikely to Testify in Fraud Trial, Judge Says(NYT)
CityTime Payroll System Scandal
________________________________________
CityTime Trial
Gonzalez: Alleged CityTime crooks demanded fast payment for fake invoices of more than $5M per month, witness says(NYDN)
________________________________________
CityTime Trial
Gonzalez: Alleged CityTime crooks demanded fast payment for fake invoices of more than $5M per month, witness says(NYDN)
___________________________________________________________________________________
911 Failure Warning
“If the city withheld any documents from my office during the course of our audit into the 911 system, they violated the City Charter,” Comptroller John Liu
Or is a city contractor Gartner trying to cover its ass to protect itself from a lawsuit between city fire unions and City Hall. Fire officials acknowlede that emergency-response times were
actually on the rise — instead of decreasing — since the new system was
installed.
Mayor, Comptroller Thompson and City Council Unable to Stop Corruption. Why?
Holtzman Should Give the City Her Lobbying Fees From From the Corrupt Citytime Project
CityTime ATM Nobody Noticed?
Not One City Employee Has Been Indicted
City knew of $2B 911 fiasco in 2011 (NYP) Mayor Bloomberg’s controversial $2 billion effort to modernize the 911 system — billed as a cure-all for every emergency-communications ill — was labeled a boondoggle by the city’s own experts two years ago, The Post has learned. The project “does not have a defined business case” for spending $2 billion on a new 911 system, Gartner Consulting told City Hall in a March 2011 report marked “draft — confidential.” In bureaucratic-speak, Gartner was telling Hizzoner “the program should not go forward” because the city hadn’t shown a legitimate need, as required by federal guidelines.
Problems Outlined in 2011 Reporter Were Never Fixed
* Repeated failures of the emergency-response software were reported but were not fixed. * The NYPD refused to merge its system for dispatching units with that of the FDNY and the EMS — although that was a key reason for creating the new system. And the departments would not work together to create a unified management structure for the new system. * The city agencies involved in the plan would not assist the system’s architects in setting up the new 911 network.
The Big Guys City Employees Who Pocketed Billions in Tech Funds Are Not Indicted But the City Goes After 2 Old Ladies that Pocketed $445
The Bloomberg administration demoted a high-ranking agency official on Wednesday after she admitted falsifying time sheets and collecting more
than $22,000 that she had not earned.(NYT) * CityTime Preet Bharara Where are the Arrests of NYC Gov Officials? The city official who was the project’s point person, Joel
Bondy, resigned in December and had close ties to the suspected mastermind of
the scheme. More on the CityTime Scandal * CityTime CNN I report Whistle blowing post that called them all out including Jelly Bean
NYC Tech Disasters Continue
More Evidence of Billion Dollar 911 Fix Up Failure
911 Lost Data; CityTime Sandal; Wireless Network Outdated; CityNet interrupted and CitiServ Confusion
City’s Top Technology Official Resigns Amid Clashes Over Troubled Projects(NYT)The
departure of the technology official, Carole Post, was announced on
Thursday, a day before Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg said the city would
challenge a judge’s order to release what is said to be a sharply
critical consultant’s report on an over-budget, much-delayed
modernization of the city’s emergency calls and dispatching system.* With City Appeal, 911 Report Remains Secret (WSJ)
Beside
911 non working billion dollar fix up. Cost of an upgrade to CityNet,
the city’s internal data network; continuing problems and shortcomings
with CitiServ, a data center that was supposed to consolidate dozens of
city agency servers; and a shortage of users for NYCWin, a secure
municipal wireless network. The wireless network, for example,
which cost $500 million to build and costs $40 million a year to
operate, is underused and arguably outdated. CityNet has
experienced interruptions in service, despite a system of redundant
fiber optic rings intended to enable it to withstand a breakdown. And
the $95 million CitiServ project has confounded agency officials, with
DoITT struggling to migrate old systems into the new data center.
Ms.
Post, who is to remain in her job until her replacement is named, is
leaving, the city said, to become an executive vice president and the
first chief strategy officer at New York Law School, where Mayor
Bloomberg’s former counsel, Anthony W. Crowell, is president and dean. 3rd
Bloomberg DOITT commissioner out. Crowell was special counsel on nypd
and fdny pensions....(google Susan Edelmam NYPD FDNY pensions - read
how pensions mismanaged) Rudy's deputy mayors turned lobbyists for SAIC which caused the CityTime scandal.
More Evidence of Billion Dollar 911 Fix Up Failure
THE
FIRE UNION has gotten roughly 1,600 complaint reports from its members
since early 2009 about bunk info provided to FDNY crews by the city’s
revamped 911 system
New Tech DOIT Commissioner Out
Emergency system spewing bogus information (NYDN) Correction Log Sheets dispatching wrong data * 911 SOS: Taxpayers hit with bill (NYP)
From the CityTime Scandal to the 911 Report What is Mike Hiding?
Mike ordered to bare 911 report(NYP) * Judge Tells Bloomberg to Release 911 Report (NYT) * Court Orders City to Open 911 Records*WSJ)* 411 on 911 City told to release data Comparison to Wat(NYDN)
Mayor refuses to release 911 system report, but court date looms (NYP)* Bloomberg’s obsession with data-driven government has proved to be a double-edged sword.
City Council the Fix is Fixed
City Hall Admits Mishandling Technology Projects(NYT) After 11 arrests by the feds of those involved with the CityTime contract the Bloomberg administration admitted the reality when they agreed to support a city council bill alert them when a city contract runs into problems. A lot of good that will do. On May 8 2008 the city council held hearing on the troubled Citytime contract and the corruption when on for 3 more years * Cas Holloway admitted at a City Council hearing that the Bloomberg administration had bungled some of its contract with outside technology consultants, and pledged greater oversight.
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City Council is Shocked That There Was Corruption in the CityTime Contract
How Will Being Alerted Help Them Stop Bad Contracts When They Knew About CityTime Corruption and Did Nothing?
Time-Out Proposed For CityTime System - City Limits Magazine(May 19, 2008) * City Council to probe CityTime; timekeeping and payroll system(Dec 18, 2009)
As reported by City Hall on Friday, the Queens Democratic Party is seriously considering picking former congresswoman Liz Holtzman as the Democratic nominee in the race to replace Weiner. But one big problem for Holtzman could be her recent lobbying work on behalf of the giant defense firm SAIC, the main contractor on the scandal-scarred CityTime project. In the first four months of 2011, Holtzman was paid a whopping $80,000 to lobby the comptroller's office and mayor's office on CityTime.* "Holtzman could likely be trusted not to run against Crowley or Rep. Gary Ackerman." * The Bringing Down of Liz Holtzman * CityTime Payroll Scandal a Cautionary Tale(WNYC) * Elizabeth Holtzman Thinks She’s Ideal for Weiner’s Seat(NYT) * The Special Election Timetable (YNN) * Elizabeth Holtzman Interested in Running for Weiner's Seat(Forward) * NY9: “Whoever wins the seat may have little time to enjoy it.” [Jewish Forward Daily] * Candidates interviewed by the Brooklyn/Queens GOP include: Would-be GOP candidates in NY-9: Asher Taub, Andy Sullivan, Juan Reyes Tim Cochrane, Col. Fred Britton, Steve Schiffman, Robert Turner. NOT interviewed: NYC Councilman Eric Ulrich, Assemblyman Doc Hikind, Civil Court Judge Noach Dear.
June 29, 2011
31 Days After Bloomberg Says CityTime Did "A Pretty Good Job" He Now Wants Our Money Back
Mayor Mike Bloomberg says city did 'pretty good job' with CityTime ...(NYT)
Son of Citysource Will Also Cost the City Millions More
"Another CityTime" — Letitia James
“Another
CityTime” is how Councilwoman Letitia James (D-Brooklyn)
described the benefits-tracking system, comparing it to the fraud-ridden
$700 million automated-payroll project that has become the biggest
scandal of Mayor Bloomberg’s tenure. “Same problem, same lack of
oversight, same lack of transparency, and we, the taxpayers, pay the
price again and again,” she said. CAPS is supposed to replace paper
records for benefits and human-resource functions for more than 330,000
city workers. A Bloomberg spokeman said It’s “a fully functional
system used successfully every day by thousands
of city employees, and the system has increased the efficiency and cost
effectiveness of our human-resources operations,” he said.
June 28, 2011
Mayor Tries to Take Pressure Off of CityTime Scandal By Accepting Blame and Saying He Do Better Next Time
Mike: I share blame in CityTime fiasco(NYP) * Mayor Bloomberg Defends Record(WSJ) * Bloomberg: My Bad About That Whole $740 Million CityTime Mess(Gothamist) * Corruption: Accused crook in CityTime scandal can’t afford lawyer. [Bruce Golding / NY Post]
CityTime, MTA and DOE Contract Scandal(True News)
June 27, 2011
I Am Sorry CityTime Investigation Over
Mayor Takes Partial Blame For CityTime Scandal
"Hopefully we learn and don't make the same mistake again."Bloomberg
Can you imagine if Nixon told the Washington Post after the first Watergate Story that he is sorry and should have paid more attention to what his staff was doing and the Post never continued its investigation, because he said it would not happen again. The dumbing down of reporters and the changing culture of the press from watch dogs for the average Joe to corporate owners of the media who use their papers to make money for themselves. The mayor has reason to optimistic that the press will not push him to come up with answers to who in his administration was in on the corruption. We already know DOI looked the other way when the former head of the Office of Payroll Richard Valcich sent a letter in 2003 to DOI outlining the corruption that was going on.
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We also know from the reporting Juan Gonzalez that a whistleblowers wrote a letters to DOI in 2008 to warn them of fake times sheets and hours claims where being made my CityTime. If Quinn wanted to get to the bottom of who in the city was involved in the CityTime scandal she would call Gia Morris was the Inspector General at the City Finance Dept who job was to investigate CityTime. Quinn can find her working at the Dept. of Corrections where she was quietly transferred a few months ago.
CityTime Contractor Repays Nearly $2.5M To City(NY1)
Blame Bloomberg For CityTime Scandal
"We have developed evidence that the corruption on the CityTime project was epic in duration, magnitude and scope," U.S. Attorney Bharara
 |
| Part II: Bloomberg |
11 CityTime Workers Have Been Indicted So Far
“Today’s announcement unfortunately sheds more light on just how flawed the management of the CityTime project was,” said Comptroller John C. Liu. “According to the indictment ‘virtually the entirety of the more than $600 million that was paid to SAIC was tainted directly or indirectly, by fraud.’ New Yorker’s can hope that this will eventually lead to restitution for the hundreds of millions of dollars paid on an out-of-control project, years overdue and, ten-fold over budget.” Two Executives Are Charged in Payroll Scandal * Carl Bell, was the chief systems engineer for the New York office of the contractor, Science Applications International Corporation or S.A.I.C. pleaded guilty to charges including two counts of wire fraud conspiracy, one count of wire fraud and money laundering conspiracy. 2 CityTime Fraud Suspects Flee Overseas: Authorities(NBC) * Mayor Mike Bloomberg Technodyne Arrests CityTime SAIC ScandalTax Payers Want Full Refund! * Liu Crows as CityTime Investigation Widens(NYO)
Containment Journalism On CityTime/NYPD Ticket Scandal
The Press is limiting itself to reporting on the CityTime Scandal only when the U.S. Attorney indicts someone. We do not know what role the city officials Mark Page or resigned Joel Bondy who he supervised as head of Office of Payroll Administration. Both men knew there were problems with the CityTime contract as the cost went up over 1000% ($63 million to $700 Million). This is not the only corruption story the press is covering passively. We still do not know which city official and or council members had there tickets fixed by the NYPD.
City Officals All Knew About CityTime Corruption
Where Are the Reporters Demanding Answers From These Guys?Page, Bondy, Bloomberg, DOI all knew about CityTime in 2003, when the former head of the city's Office of Payroll Administration Richard Valcich wrote a letter to SAIC complaining of waste and bloat in the main contract. In 2003 Valcich wrote: the city had spent "approximately $35 million on CityTime and does not have a tangible system to show for it.* Ex-payroll boss blew whistle on CityTime in scathing 2003 letter and nothing was done(NYDN) " Letter found by Liu reveals shady CityTime job offer pitch in '02 from main contractor to Valcich.(NYDN) A second reason why the city knew was a CNN IRerort in 2009 by an anonymous city worker who said that the project was corrupt. 2 of the three people mentioned in the report have been indicted
 |
| City Council |
Why at a City Council oversight hearings about CityTime the past few years, no one at OPA or City Hall ever mentioned the Valcich letter?
Today's reporters have a value system that allows them to write public relations stories of a mayor trying to avoid blame in what the U.S. Attorney from the Southern District Preet Bharara has called the largest municipal scandal in history and still consider themselves journalists. This is not the journalism that John Peter Zenger practised in 1735 when he was jailed by the British for publishing newspaper stories that exposed corruption in the kings administration. As a kid we used to joke about government propaganda published by the Soviet Union news organizations like Provida. Who knew that in 2011 in New York the culture of journalist would sink so low to limit coverage to the governments line. Thomas Jefferson understood the damage being done to us when he said, "An informed citizenry is the only true repository of the public will." No other story points out have far in value journalism has sunk today than coverage of the CityTime scandal.
How the NYT Covered the Mayors Request for a Refund by CityTime
In an article by David Chen it what he left out that tells the real storyBloomberg Seeks $600 Million Refund From CityTime Company(NYT). While Chen included the mayor spin line “Certainly nobody paid as much attention to it as they should have, from me on down.” He left out why the administration and DOI despite being warned several times failed to or cover up the corruption at CityTime. Chen did now write about the former head of the city's Office of Payroll Richard Valcich letter that blew the whistle on CityTime corruption in 2003. Or how the Daily News' Juan Gonzalez published a report how several whistleblowers who when to DOI in 2008 to report corruption in the CityTime contract were ignored. Questions the NYT could have ask was why former Comptroller Thompson never audited CityTime when it was his responsibility? Why A woman who worked for DOI was removed from the CityTime contract a few months ago and give a job a corrections? Was DOI Covering Up Corruption in CityTime? Was there no city employee in the corruption?
How the WSJ Covered the Mayors Request for a Refund by CityTime
The WSJ which is supposed to be in a newspaper war with the NYT covered the CityTime scandal the exact same way. Report Michael Howard Saul wrote the mayor spin and none of the background what caused this corruption to happen over a decade. Saul wrote "Certainly nobody paid as much attention to it as they should have, from me on down," Mr. Bloomberg said on Monday. "I think it's fair to say we could have and should have watched it more carefully." Saul even added how the mayor was limiting damage by demanding the money back. "If the mayor recoups a large sum of money, it could blunt some of the political damage Mr. Bloomberg sustained for failing to detect what prosecutors have called one of the largest frauds in city history." Nothing about Valcich 2003 letter, whistleblowersgoing to DOI years ago or of the possible cover up by the administration. 32 days ago the mayor said CityTime did a good job.Mayor Demands SAIC Repay City(WSJ) * Budget: Gap closed this year is same size as money Bloomberg wants back from CityTime contractor. [Bob Hennelly / WNYC]
DOI: Investigations are Political (True News)
I Am Sorry CityTime Investigation Over
Mayor Takes Partial Blame For CityTime Scandal
"Hopefully we learn and don't make the same mistake again."Bloomberg
Can you imagine if Nixon told the Washington Post after the first Watergate Story that he is sorry and should have paid more attention to what his staff was doing and the Post never continued its investigation, because he said it would not happen again. The dumbing down of reporters and the changing culture of the press from watch dogs for the average Joe to corporate owners of the media who use their papers to make money for themselves. The mayor has reason to optimistic that the press will not push him to come up with answers to who in his administration was in on the corruption. We already know DOI looked the other way when the former head of the Office of Payroll Richard Valcich sent a letter in 2003 to DOI outlining the corruption that was going on.
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We also know from the reporting Juan Gonzalez that a whistleblowers wrote a letters to DOI in 2008 to warn them of fake times sheets and hours claims where being made my CityTime. If Quinn wanted to get to the bottom of who in the city was involved in the CityTime scandal she would call Gia Morris was the Inspector General at the City Finance Dept who job was to investigate CityTime. Quinn can find her working at the Dept. of Corrections where she was quietly transferred a few months ago.
June 21, 2011
Manhattan US Attorney Preet Bharara called CityTime"truly jaw-dropping" and "epic in duration, magnitude and scope."
"Corrupted to its core by one of the largest and most brazen frauds ever committed against the City of New York” Bharara
The defendants are accused of defrauding the city by hiring consultants who were not needed, inflating the rates charged for consulting work and — in an irony, given the project’s subject matter about timekeeping — inflating the hours worked by consultants. $600 mil CityTime 'swindle'(NYP) * City Payroll Project Was Riddled With Fraud, U.S. Says(NYT) * CityTime Project Awash in 'Fraud'(WSJ) * $450 million scam couple flee before CityTime indictment(NYDN) * U.S. Attorney: CityTime Project "Corrupted To Its Core"(NY1)
The NYT Says: No city official has been implicated
Investigators suggested that the Bloomberg administration, which was deeply invested in the project and anxious for the technology to work, had failed to recognize what Mr. Bharara said was a scheme that “appears to have metastasized over time.” DOI's Ms. Gill Hearn said, “The individuals charged today understood, exploited and preyed upon the city’s desire to modernize its timekeeping and payroll operations for more than 160,000 employees.” Marc LaVorgna, a spokesman for Mr. Bloomberg, said: “Our Department of Investigation uncovered this fraud, bringing it to federal prosecutors
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| Cover Up I |
Page, Bondy, Bloomberg, DOI all knew about CityTime in 2003, when the former head of the city's Office of Payroll Administration Richard Valcich wrote a letter to SAIC complaining of waste and bloat in the main contract. In 2003 Valcich wrote: the city had spent "approximately $35 million on CityTime and does not have a tangible system to show for it.* Ex-payroll boss blew whistle on CityTime in scathing 2003 letter and nothing was done(NYDN) " Letter found by Liu reveals shady CityTime job offer pitch in '02 from main contractor to Valcich.(NYDN) A second reason why the city knew was a CNN IRerort in 2009 by an anonymous city worker who said that the project was corrupt. 2 of the three people mentioned in the report have been indicted * Mike Bloomberg Administration DOI Failed CityTime SAIC * Want $460 Million? Just Get NYC Gov't Contract And Steal It!(Gothamist)
 |
| Cover Up II |
June 20, 2011
"We have developed evidence that the corruption on the CityTime project was epic in duration, magnitude and scope," U.S. Attorney Bharara
|
| Part II: Bloomberg |
11 CityTime Workers Have Been Indicted So Far
“Today’s announcement unfortunately sheds more light on just how flawed the management of the CityTime project was,” said Comptroller John C. Liu. “According to the indictment ‘virtually the entirety of the more than $600 million that was paid to SAIC was tainted directly or indirectly, by fraud.’ New Yorker’s can hope that this will eventually lead to restitution for the hundreds of millions of dollars paid on an out-of-control project, years overdue and, ten-fold over budget.” Two Executives Are Charged in Payroll Scandal * Carl Bell, was the chief systems engineer for the New York office of the contractor, Science Applications International Corporation or S.A.I.C. pleaded guilty to charges including two counts of wire fraud conspiracy, one count of wire fraud and money laundering conspiracy. 2 CityTime Fraud Suspects Flee Overseas: Authorities(NBC) * Mayor Mike Bloomberg Technodyne Arrests CityTime SAIC ScandalTax Payers Want Full Refund! * Liu Crows as CityTime Investigation Widens(NYO)
Containment Journalism On CityTime/NYPD Ticket Scandal
The Press is limiting itself to reporting on the CityTime Scandal only when the U.S. Attorney indicts someone. We do not know what role the city officials Mark Page or resigned Joel Bondy who he supervised as head of Office of Payroll Administration. Both men knew there were problems with the CityTime contract as the cost went up over 1000% ($63 million to $700 Million). This is not the only corruption story the press is covering passively. We still do not know which city official and or council members had there tickets fixed by the NYPD.
City Officals All Knew About CityTime Corruption
Where Are the Reporters Demanding Answers From These Guys?Page, Bondy, Bloomberg, DOI all knew about CityTime in 2003, when the former head of the city's Office of Payroll Administration Richard Valcich wrote a letter to SAIC complaining of waste and bloat in the main contract. In 2003 Valcich wrote: the city had spent "approximately $35 million on CityTime and does not have a tangible system to show for it.* Ex-payroll boss blew whistle on CityTime in scathing 2003 letter and nothing was done(NYDN) " Letter found by Liu reveals shady CityTime job offer pitch in '02 from main contractor to Valcich.(NYDN) A second reason why the city knew was a CNN IRerort in 2009 by an anonymous city worker who said that the project was corrupt. 2 of the three people mentioned in the report have been indicted
Why at a City Council oversight hearings about CityTime the past few years, no one at OPA or City Hall ever mentioned the Valcich letter?
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| City Council |
june 17, 2011
CityTime SAIC Media Cover-ups + SAIC Share Holder Meeting today! Ssshhhh
SAIC has a shareholder meetings and lucky for the shareholders the NY Press has not reported any news or scandals including the cancellation of a 50 million dollar contract by SAIC fan Mike Bloomberg...Ssshhh, hush hush...why?
CityTime, MTA and DOE Contract Scandal(True News)
June 15, 2011
Quieting One of the Only Pol Talking Out Against CityTime Corrupt Contract
Why not tell Bloomberg who has been saying that CityTime has been doing a good job to shut up also?
City Comptroller Is Asked to Curb Comments on Fraud Case The U.S. attorney in Manhattan asked John C. Liu to make no more public statements about a criminal inquiry into New York City’s troubled automated payroll project without consulting investigators. (NYT)
Stop Tiger Blood WeinerThe Mayor Attempt to Contain and Control Information on the CityTime Contract Scandal has Lead to a Drip Drip Never Ending News Cycle of the Scanadal
 |
| Reason Mayor's Poll Going South |
NY contractor fraud case scandal a thorn for mayor Drip, drip of news on NYC contractor fraud case a thorn for Bloomberg(YahooNews.com)
June 1, 2011
 |
| Technodyne Out of Business |
Corrupt CityTime Subcontractor Going Out of Business
CityTime consulting company Technodyne goes bust, terminates over 200 employees in wake of scandal (NYDN)
May 30, 2011
The Citytime Cover Up Falls Apart
"We were told specifically when other City officials visited us NOT to "bad" mouth the project...we all along with management KNEW very well this was going to be a complete failure." Whistleblower in 2009
Federal investigators arrested another central figure in their widening inquiry into the city’s troubled automated payroll project. Gerard Denault, a former executive with Science Applications International Corporation, the company overseeing CityTime, was charged with receiving over $5 million in kickbacks for his work as the project’s senior manager. Federal-court papers say Denault's thievery persisted despite an anonymous whistleblower's attempt to alert the project's prime contractor With Arrest, Criticism for Payroll Project Grows (NYT) * CityTime 'kickbacks' Project boss pocketed $5.6M: feds(NYP) * CityTime Case Expands With Another Arrest(WSJ) * Former CityTime Manager Out On $1M Bail (NY1) * Ex-Payroll Consultant Arrested in CityTime Scandal (WNYC)
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City Computer Manager funnel $$$ Into Company He Owned in India
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| Indian Computer Imputers |
According to the complaint, Mr. Denault had worked as CityTime’s program manager since 2003 and had perpetrated a kickback scheme for much of his involvement. He urged his employer to hire a New Jersey company, TechnoDyne, L.L.C., as the project’s main information technology subcontractor. TechnoDyne received some $450 million out of $600 million that was paid to Science Applications International and funneled $5.6 million to a sham consulting company, said to have been based in India, that Mr. Denault actually owned.
5
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Why Was IG Inspector Moved From the Department of Finance?
Is the City's Department of Investigation Involved in the Cover Up?
Gia Morris was the Inspector General at the City Finance Dept., her job was to investigate and corruption over Citytime....Well, a few months ago she was quietly left her position and has now re-appeared as an Assistant Commissioner in the NYC Department of Correction. If this is a case like the SEC investigators in the Madoff case who did not do their job, why give her another city position? Queens Crap Comments
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Bloomberg has long defended the project’s goal of modernizing an antiquated & largely paper-based system
A Warning Ignored By the Mayor and DOI
How did DOI Miss this CNN I Report in 2009 on CityTime and their Corrupt Managers?
The managers rake in hundereds of $$$ for themselves and produce little in return except a faltering system. The project is a total waste and will NOT accomplish the goal to automate all 80+ agencies. They know it and so do many of the consultants. I would suggest that the media contact the NYC Payroll department and obtain more information on "CityTime". You will be surprised to discover what lies beneath the covers.
May 27, 2011
First SAIC Employee Indicted in City's Growing Computer Consultants Contract Scandals
CityTime Was Supposed to Cost $63 Million, to Date It Has Cost the City Over 700 Million
Consultant on Payroll Project Is Arrested Gerard Denault is accused of having received at least $5 million in illegal kickbacks. The consultant, Gerard Denault, a former executive of Science Applications International Corporation, was also charged with wire fraud conspiracy and money laundering in an indictment unsealed in United States District Court in Manhattan. (NYT) * CityTime Contractor Arrested on Bribe Charges * Feds CityTime Complaint * Here we go again: CityTime contracter steered $450M in kickbacks, say feds(NYDN) * The CityTime scandal continues to deepen (CrainsNY) * CityTime: So far, 8 arrests. * Former CityTime Manager Out On $1M Bail: Former CityTime project manager Gerard Denault, charged with receiving * Former Payroll Consultant Arrested In NY Scandal(WCBS) * CityTime exec arrested on fraud charges (CrainsNY) * Former CityTime Consultant Arrested(NBC)
When the Press Does Not Question the Mayor You Get BloomNixon
Bloomberg claims city did 'pretty good job' with scandal-plagued CityTime(NYP)
Mayor Bloomberg praises scandal-scarred CityTime time-keeping ...
A Year Before Also on March 1, 2010 Bloomberg Said Bloomberg admits $722M CityTime system to replace paper timesheets has been 'a disaster'(NYDN)
Today The Mayor Said Bloomberg claims city did 'pretty good job' with scandal-plagued CityTime (NYP)
And He Added Nixon Did A Great Job With Watergate?
May 26th, 2011
CityTime Outside Contractor
 |
| What Others Vendors Are Ripping Off the City? |
How Did the Mayor, Comptroller Thompson and City Council Miss for Years the CityTime Ripoffs?
In another black eye for the Bloomberg administration, a contractor for the scandal-scarred CityTime electronic-payroll system yesterday admitted the project's manager ripped off the city by cheating on his own time sheet. Officials at the contractor, Science Applications International Corp., said they will reimburse the city the $2.47 million that project manager Gerard Denault unfairly billed when he worked on the massive project to switch city employees to the system. * Citytime Honcho Gets Ax (WSJ) * CityTime boss' own cheat sheet(NYP) * CityTime Manager Fudges Timesheets(Gotham Gazette) * CityTime Payroll Project’s Main Contractor Fires a Manager(NYT) * Mike Bloomberg Praised SAIC - SAIC Fires Head Guy NYC! More Corruption Fall-Out To Come!!!! * Gerard Denault, CityTime Project Manager, Fired for Raiding the Till(Village Voice)
Another Pay A Fine With No Criminal Charges or Jail Time
 |
| CityTime Can Make Me Mayor |
Mayor Bloomberg praises scandal-scarred CityTime time-keeping ...
CityTime, MTA and DOE Contract Scandal (True News)
CityTime Was Just the Beginning of Corrupt Contractors
$3.6 million taken from NYC Dept. of Ed; "second time in less than a year that federal prosecutors accused consultants hired by the city of multimillion dollar thefts." Stolen Money: "Lanham Enterprises allegedly was paid $5.3 million for consulting work that cost his company only $1.7 million."* Stolen Money: "investigation revealed another embarrassing lack of supervision in one of the city's technology projects."
Schools Consultant Stole Millions, Officials Say (NYT) * Contractor Fraud Alleged(WSJ) * DOE consultant charged with stealing $3.6M from schools * Investigator: Consultant Stole $3.6M From City Schools (NY1) * Ex-schools consultant charged with stealing $3.6M (NYP)
May 24, 2011
City Hall Flacks Celebrate the CityTime Contract
In A Preemptive Attempt to Defend Against Demands to Cut Outside Consultants Before Firehouse and Teachers
Long-delayed, over-priced & criminal computer system is operational
CityTime Finally Clocks In The city's long-delayed, over-budget computerized payroll system—a project at the center of a major criminal probe that Mayor Bloomberg once described as a "disaster"—is "essentially" fully operational.(WSJ) * Bloomberg SAIC Rudy FDNY Schools Tech(Video)
Department of Education official who quit in probe helped lover get secret info, big raise (NYDN)
CityTime, MTA and DOE Contract Scandal (True News)
May 13, 2011
City spends $1 BILLION on consultants as it lays off 4,100 teachers(NYDN) * Gonzalez: Education Department official resigns amid investigation (NYDN)
May 6, 2011
Unions Cut Corrupt Consultants to Save Job
Insourcing
Cut New York consultants to save $300 million: union As New York Governor Andrew Cuomo and public-employee unions negotiate over his threat to lay off 9,800 state workers, one union on Thursday said that the state could save $300 million alone by using fewer private consultants. (WSJ) * While deep in contract negotiations with the Cuomo administration, PEF has reprised its call for more “insourcing” and less outside consultants. * Albany: "Cuomo will be with Silver on rent control. An says Jimmy Vielkind.
May 4, 2011
Pay to Play Department of Education
Top DOE official under investigation for conflict of interest with owners of computer contractor
May 1, 2011
Doubts and Crazy or Contracts Whose Corruption Was Cover Up Because of Powerful Backers?
Both the Citytime and Schools Consultant Contract radio active with corruption that the mayor, comptroller or city council could have easily picked up. It is clear that lobbyists and special interests protected these contractors and no doubt protect other corrupt contracts the city makes. Doubts About Schools Consultant Charged in $3.6 Million Fraud Dated to ’02(NYT) * Clocking CityTime, the craziest contract ever | Crain's New York ...
March 28, 2011
March 27, 2011
Where is the Money Mr. Mayor?
Federal agents raid safety deposit boxes linked to CityTime scam, and come up nearly empty
Federal agents with search warrants opened safety-deposit boxes linked to the CityTime payroll kickback scheme - only to find them virtually empty, the Daily News has learned.(DN) * It wasn't the union protests nor Councilwoman Letitia James' prescient description years before of just how vulnerable the city had become to multi-million dollar sub-contractor fraudsters that provided the "aha" moment for the Bloomberg Administration. (WNYC)
March 25, 2011
After 6 Arrests Connected With Outsourced CityTime Contract, Goldsmith Heart Mind Follows
New York City caves, cans pricey consultants Administration finally agrees with critics who say the city spends too much on outside consultants. (DN)
March 24, 2011
After 6 Arrests Connected With the Outsourced CityTime Contract, Goldsmith Heart and Mind Follows
NYC Employees: Deputy Mayor Goldsmith writes "I have concluded that much of the solution lies not in more outsourcing to the private sector, but rather in employing city workers to perform more of our IT work." [Daily News] * Bloomberg Deputy Goldsmith We Want a FULL REFUND CityTime + 911 TECH * Bloomberg By the Numbers: $80 Million School Data System Still Evolving (WNYC)
March 21, 2011
Privatization NYC: Deputy Mayor Goldsmith's plan. [Adam Lisberg]
Unions Drop Savings Pact A much-heralded cost reduction program launched two years ago by New York unions and contractors to stimulate construction has come to a halt ahead of a major round of contract negotiations. (WSJ)
March 18, 2011
Bloombertg's Contract Patronage Giveaway
Daily News' Gonzalez Continues to Hit the Mayor on His Sweetheart Contract Giveaways
Disclose the details: Cloaked city technology contracts result in $185K for a help desk operator (DN)
March 4, 2011
City's Computer Consultants From CityTime, 911 to DOE Eat Money
Education Dept. plans to spend $52M on computer contractors as it lays off 4,600 teachers (DN) * Gonzalez: Mayor gives in to Controller Liu on call-center Bloomberg has yielded to John Liu's demand that city rein in skyrocketing cost of its 911 system modernization. (DN) * Hardhat firm cheated employees and should be banned from government contracts for three years: feds (DN)
Feb 28, 2011
Housing Agency’s Computer Woes Put Aid Recipients in Limbo Possible loss of federal voucher holders’ personal data (NYT) * Bloomberg on CityTime
Sunday, February 20, 2011
Citytime
Bloomberg's Scandal II The main contractor on the CityTime project has been slapped with a federal subpoena * Juan Gonzalez reports: “The criminal probe of the bloated CityTime payroll system keeps spreading. Virginia-based Science Applications International Corp., the main contractor on the $740 million project, has been hit with a federal subpoena for its CityTime records, a company spokesperson confirmed Tuesday.”
Bloomberg Tries to Clean Private Contract Mess Before More City Time Contract Fall Out
Which Private Contractor is Stole the People's Money? Bloomberg
'T Was All of The
Overcharge: Like City Time overcharged the city on 100 city-financed projects between 1999 and 2009, paying some foremen unearned overtime and extra pay. Center of a federal investigation into allegations of severe over-billing on public projects, city officials announced on Wednesday. Contractor and City Settle Overcharges for $5 Million (NYT)
NYC's Computer-System Cash-Dump Disaster
New York City threw away a mountain of cash over a new computer system. Now, finally, someone is going to pay.
City Still Missing 56 Million in the City Time Contract Scandal
Timely 'take back' Probers find $26M(NYP) * Authorities seized $27M in CityTime scam - theft keeps piling up (DN)
Friday, January 21, 2011
Organized Crime Contract CityTime
Did Ex Commission Joel Bondy Set Up the City?
Bondy used to work with indicted CityTime workers for a subcontractor of the project
City Comptroller John Liu warned Thursday that the city's long-delayed and over-budget computerized payroll system will be held "hostage" to the project's developer because the firm's employees are the only ones who know how to operate it. "New York City taxpayers paid hundreds of millions for the full, custom development of CityTime from scratch," said Mr. Liu, referring to the new payroll system by its name. "A decade later, CityTime is not only overdue, overpriced and wrought with allegations of fraud, but today we learned that it doesn't even come with a user manual."
The New Patronage
The process of patronage-performing favors and offering lucrative positions or rewards to people who raise money or offer service-has always been a part of government, but not to the extent that it is in American politics today, argue the Tolchins in this fascinating exposé Pinstripe Patronage . Once defined by reliable blue-collar jobs and gifts of food to the poor, patronage has moved into the boardroom and grown exponentially in worth and influence. What's particularly troubling in an era of growing deficits and cries for "smaller government" is that responsibilities once undertaken by the state are being outsourced, often without bidding, to private companies with no oversight or qualification. Report Warns City Is Yoked to Maker of Payroll System (NYT) * Liu Sees Further CityTime Woes(WSJ) * CityTime's 700M scandal gets worse: Accounting firm says only contractor has knowledge to run it (DN)
Gonzalez Owns the CityTime Scandal StoryCityTime scandal grows, as does the number of scammer squealing to gov't (Gonzalez, DN)
Comptroller Liu would not be fighting the mayor on the CityTime contract without the good work of journalist Gonzalez. It is very questionable if the 80 million dollar scandal would been investigated by the feds in the first place if it was not for this the work by the Daily News journalist.
Today Gonzalez reports prosecutors have not accused anyone from CitiTime subcontractors Technodyne or SAIC, one of the country's biggest defense contractors, of wrongdoing yet. He goes on to report that Virginia-based Science Applications International Corp. ousted systems engineer Carl Bell after an internal review found he approved timesheets for a highly paid CityTime consultant for years even though the consultant did no work on the project. Gonzalez's says a person who knows him well said Bell flew out of the country this week for an extended stay in Trinidad. * Defendant In CityTime Scandal Pleads Guilty (NY1) * Guilty Plea in CityTime Fraud Scheme (WSJ) * CityTime: “[Turncoat Victor Natanzon's] cooperation is a turning point as DOI looks into whether Bloomberg administration officials broke any laws as CityTime’s pricetag rose from $63 million to $700 million.” (nydailynews.com)
Guilty Plea in CityTime Fraud Scheme - Metropolis - WSJ Feb 10, 2011
Millions In School Contracts Also With Company At Center Of CityTime Dec 20, 2110
Juan Gonzalez: NYC CityTime Fraud Scheme "Biggest Scandal of ...Dec 23, 2010
MTA back outs of contract with CityTime scandal company - am New York Feb 17, 2011
Alleged CityTime 'brains' Mark Mazer had an arrest in 1999 for larceny Dec 2010
Cost Overruns Found in Technology for Placement of High School Students
This time Spherion under bid everyone else with a contract of $3.6 million the DOE quickly add an addition $13.5 million - sound like CityTime all over again.
NYT Left Out MTA Canceled A CityTime Contract Yesterday
The NYT knows that the story was about the NY Comptroller Liu audit of another corrupt CityTime contract, not about placement about high school students, MTA Cancels Contract(WSJ)
MTA scraps plan to hire scandal-plagued CityTime contractors for new subway radio station (NYDN) * MTA back outs of contract with CityTime scandal company - am New York
Post: Yet another crooked scheme at the NYCDOE
Department of Education official who quit in probe helped lover get secret info, big raise (NYDN)
CityTime, MTA and DOE Contract Scandal (True News)
This is the latest development in an already absurd story in which a seemingly simple idea (centralize the city's time keeping records for a cool $68 million) was turned into a veritable money pit that has cost the city $740 million bucks and counting—$80 million of which was allegedly stolen by consultants (always consultants!) who made the program so complex that nobody else can use it.
Willard Lanham, Department of Education consultant, charged with stealing $3.6M from city schools
A cuckolded computer consultant hired to link the city's 1,400 schools to the Internet was charged Thursday with downloading $3.6 million into his crooked pockets. Willard (Ross) Lanham, aided by corporate giants IBM and Verizon, masterminded the massive fraud to enjoy a life of luxury from 2002 to 2008, according to a scathing report from the special schools investigator. "Lanham effectively stole from schoolchildren so he could buy fancy cars and valuable real estate," said Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara.CityTime Scandal Contractors Tried to Hire City Critic (Village Voice)
Payroll Official Joel Bondy Resigns Amid CityTime Woes - WSJ.com
Juan Gonzalez: NYC CityTime Fraud Scheme "Biggest Scandal of Entire Bloomberg Era" (Video)
MTA dumps CityTime contactor from subway radio overhaul - NYPOST.com
Assistant Aging Dept. Commissioner Demoted for Faking Time Sheets ...(May 25, 2011
New Details in CityTime Corruption Case: Contractor Arrogance and Incompetence + 2003 Letter From the Commisioner of the Payroll
Guilty Plea In CityTime Fraud Scheme - Corruption Currents - WSJ
Victor Natanzon, federal prosecutors alleged, paid millions of dollars in bribes and kickbacks to an unnamed agent of the city’s Office of Payroll Administration in order to receive work related to the CityTime automated-timekeeping project.
Guilty Plea in CityTime Fraud Scheme(WSJ)
Bloomberg Administration Kills Sanitation Contract with CityTime ... '
Dec 22, 2010
Bloomberg official defends CityTime's cost | Crain's New York Business
Mayor Bloomberg's budget brawler Mark Page hurt but set for new fight(Jan 16, 2011)
One of the main things that happened was that Valcich resigned as director of OPA in 2004 and was replaced by Joel Bondy. Bondy was then a consultant on CityTime for Spherion Inc., the firm tasked to certify the quality of all CityTime contractors. Spherion paid Bondy $307,000 the year before he moved to OPA, payroll records show. Soon after Bondy arrived, the cost overruns on CityTime spiraled even higher. Ex-payroll boss blew whistle on CityTime in scathing 2003 letter and nothing was done Dec 21, 2010CityTime, Major Crime (NY Civic)
As CityTime scandal continues to grow, turncoats start cooperating with the government Victor Natanzon
9 Days After Report That Stated Verizon Conspired to Steal $3.6 Million From the City, It Got A $175 Million Contract
 |
| Yes We are Corrupt |
Can you hire me now? Verizon hit in $175M tech 'fraud'(NYP)
The city awarded a $175 million contract to Verizon, just nine days before the communications giant was cited by special schools investigator Richard Condon for "facilitating" a $3.6 million fraud by a technology consultant. On April 28, Condon issued a scathing report that accused both Verizon and IBM of playing roles in an alleged six-year swindle by consultant Willard Lanham, who was accused of shielding his thievery through layers of contractors and subcontractors in a project to wire public schools for the Internet. Condon charged that Lanham was able to pull off his scheme by hiding the consultants as workers for Verizon and IBM, which billed the Education Department for their services at marked-up rates.
Breaking News
New York City Payroll Chief Resigns After Indictments in Project He Oversaw (NYT)
NYC payroll chief resigns after fraud probe (WSJ)
Head of City Payroll Office Resigns (WNYC)
NY1 Exclusive: Wide Inquiry Into City IT-Related Contracts Follows Payroll ...(NY1)
City Payroll Chief Quits Amid Growing Scandal
The city allowed the oversight consultant firm, Spherion, to select its own watchdog
'Kickback' in Time City payroll firm eyed for shady deal(NYP)* Liu Hits at Mayor on CityTime Fraud (WSJ) * Mark Mazer, CityTime consultant accused of scamming millions, has checkered past of investigations The former Child Welfare Administration cut his pay after he was eyed in an FBI probe into missing millions. (DN)* NYC Comptroller John Liu questioned Bloomberg’s professed “zero tolerance” approach to public corrruption. * CityTime Scam Gains Kickbacks, Sketchy History (Gothamist)
SAIC, which employs 44,000 people and took in $8 billion last year (Vanity Fair)
Mayor Bloomberg On CityTime: It Won't Happen Again
Councilwoman Says More Arrests Needed In CityTime Scandal
Paul Cosgrove, the mayor's IT commissioner, sounded a warning about the fraud-ridden CityTime payroll system more than four years ago, but was ignored
Aide gave mayor CityTimely warning (NYP) The warnings came from Paul Cosgrave, the mayor’s commissioner of information technology and telecommunications at the time, according to three people with direct knowledge of the discussions. Cosgrave “was of the mind that, frankly, they should have just shut the project down,” one source at the meetings in 2007 told The Post.
The Mayor and DOI Knew in 2003 That The CityTime Contract Was A Fraud
Why did the papers and bloggers miss this today?
Bloomberg, DOI all knew about CityTime in 2003, when the former head of the city's Office of Payroll Administration Richard Valcich wrote a letter to SAIC complaining of waste and bloat in the main contract. In 2003 Valcich wrote: the city had spent "approximately $35 million on CityTime and does not have a tangible system to show for it.* Ex-payroll boss blew whistle on CityTime in scathing 2003 letter and nothing was done(NYDN) " Letter found by Liu reveals shady CityTime job offer pitch in '02 from main contractor to Valcich.(NYDN) A second reason why the city knew was a CNN IRerort in 2009 by an anonymous city worker who said that the project was corrupt. 2 of the three people mentioned in the report have been indicted
The CityTime Cover Up (True New) The DOI Cover Up (True News)
Liu Joins Stringer and diBlasio in Calling for Bloomberg Cover Up of the Reason for Goldsmith leaving
City comptroller John Liu calls for Council probe into Bloomberg's handling of Goldsmith's arrest(NYDN) * Mayor Bloomberg's pals get a pass while all others pay the price(NYDN) * Christine Quinn disagrees * Andrew Cuomo said of the way Bloomberg handled the crisis, “We all bring our own management style and values to office, and the people who elected us are the judges. I think that’s the way it should be and that’s what will happen here.” * Tom Allon Tells Mayoral Hopefuls to Pipe Down on Goldsmith (NYO)
Daily News Owner Zuckerman Always Supports Bloomberg And Used His Paper to Change the Term Limits Law So the Mayor Could Run for a Third Term
City's $6M computer system keeps crashing, delays latest property tax roll(NYDN) Only 75% of data is finished, Finance Department sources say
The DN Does Not Even Mention the Corruption and Cover Up Involved In the Contract That Built the Unfinished Software
The
Daily News Reporter Blau failed to connect the crashing of the city's
financial computers to the corrupt contractor Technodyne and the fact
that no city employee has been indicted. 11 arrests by the feds of those involved with the CityTime contract.
The DN left out how the mayor was pushing the contract until the
arrests and then demanded and got a partial refund. The DN own reporter Juan Gonzalez wrote in 2008 that a whistleblowers wrote a letters to DOI to warn them of fake times sheets and hours claims where being made my CityTime. The DN did now report about the former head of the city's Office of Payroll Richard Valcich letter that blew the whistle on CityTime corruption in 2003.The city official who was the project’s point person, Joel Bondy, resigned in December and had close ties to the suspected mastermind of the scheme. The DN failed to inform its readers that Mayor Bloomberg praises scandal-scarred CityTime time-keeping. * Privatization NYC: Deputy Mayor Goldsmith's plan.
City Hall Admits Mishandling Technology Projects(NYT) * Time-Out Proposed For CityTime System - City Limits Magazine(May 19, 2008) * City Council to probe CityTime; timekeeping and payroll system(Dec 18, 2009) * Bloomberg demands refund from CityTime contractor(NYP) * Mike: I share blame in CityTime fiasco(NYP)* CityTime Contractor Repays Nearly $2.5M To City(NY1) * Mayor Mike Bloomberg Technodyne Arrests CityTime SAIC ScandalTax Payers Want Full Refund! * Liu Crows as CityTime Investigation Widens(NYO) * Mayor Mike Bloomberg's CityTime tax payers Titanic renewal must be stopped Sept(5/27/2010)
Is the CityTime Scandal Being Downplayed Because It Was Largely Uncovered By Liu?
Report Warns City Is Yoked to Maker of Payroll System (NYT) * Liu Sees Further CityTime Woes(WSJ) * CityTime's 700M scandal gets worse: Accounting firm says only contractor has knowledge to run it (DN)
More on the CityTime Cover Up
___________________________________________________________________________________
Forgetabout Corruption
Bloomberg Says City Time Corruption Is OK
Mayor Bloomberg: detection of fraud in CityTime scandal saved NY money
(NYP) It’s “lucky” that there was massive fraud in the CityTime contract
because the city ended up with a giant bargain, Mayor Bloomberg said
yesterday. The mayor said the entire embarrassing episode actually
ended up saving taxpayers money to finance.. * Mayor Bloomberg says NYC 'LUCKY' it had $500 * Frequent Bloomberg critic (who is being sued by Bloomberg!) NYC Comptroller John Liu was less happy, with his spokeswoman telling the Post, "The heat must be getting to Mayor Bloomberg, who conveniently forgets that his gross mismanagement led to consultants ripping off taxpayers to the tune of a half-billion dollars just from CityTime, and millions more from other consultantsCityTime Trial
The CityTime Cover Up(True News) * Juror ‘flips the bird’ at CityTime payroll scam defendant(NYP) * Juror in Tussle Over Taxi Is Taken Off Fraud Case(NYT) Juror No. 5 in the CityTime trial, who clashed with a defendant over a
cab, is said to have admitted reading an article about the case.
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