News

Harveys Lake

September 9, 2009

Probe of Lake authority spending initiated

Councilman alleges sewer authority funds misspent on personal purchases.

By Steve Mocarsky smocarsky@timesleader.com
Staff Writer
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HARVEYS LAKE – State police and the Harveys Lake General Municipal Authority board are investigating allegations that one or more authority employees used authority funds for personal purchases totaling tens of thousands of dollars over a two-year period.

Charles Musial, a councilman and borough police officer, informed the board of his suspicions at an authority board meeting last Wednesday after a review of authority records earlier this year, Musial said on Friday.

Musial also had worked as a private contractor for the authority, inspecting sewage systems in the borough until earlier this year. By design, authorities are agencies that operate independently of municipal governments.

“I found items purchased that did not match any of the equipment the municipal authority has or would be working on – parts for a Buick, parts for a Dodge Dakota sports pickup, motorcycle parts, dog leashes, letters that spell people’s last names that are on mailboxes, paint not used at any of the authority sites that I believe was used at homes,” Musial said.

“And there were gasoline purchases found through my investigating that were made at Turkey Hill that were not for municipal authority vehicles, but for an employee’s personal vehicle. I found that through mileage, knowing they only had three vehicles but there was a fourth being filled,” he said.

Musial said he provided relevant information to state police, who are also investigating.

Trooper Tom Kelly, of state police Troop P in Wyoming, confirmed that state police are investigating purchases made by authority employees.

Authority Manager Richard Boice, who is also mayor of Harveys Lake, said that as an authority employee, he had to defer comment to authority board Chairman Dave Schuler or solicitor Tom O’Connor.

Asked to speak as mayor on the motivation of Musial’s investigation, Boice said he believes it’s “absolutely political.”

Musial denied Boice’s charge, saying Harveys Lake residents had asked him to look into authority purchases late last year.

“I’m here for the people. I’m not here for myself,” he said.

Musial said his investigation began well before there was an opening for police chief – a position in which he was interested – and there were no candidates running for mayor against Boice. “So that’s a bunch of baloney,” Musial said.

Musial noted that the authority board stopped using him as a sewer inspector after he began examining authority records. He said he began reviewing records as a private citizen in January and February after submitting Right to Know Law requests.

After the next authority meeting in March, Musial said Schuler told him he would be laid off from his inspector position until the summer because the board believed his services wouldn’t be needed through the remainder of the winter. He said he was never called back to work despite previously receiving praise from board members for his work.

Schuler said the inspection process was halted because Musial told the board he was having a hard time scheduling appointments with homeowners for inspections.

“Why we never started them back up, I can’t really say,” Schuler said.

Schuler confirmed that the authority board and solicitor are conducting an internal investigation based on Musial’s allegations.

“He said he had proof in paperwork, but he declined to provide it, so we are researching on our own,” Schuler said.

Musial said many purchase records only had part numbers on them, so he requested photocopies of the records, paid $150 for them and called auto part stores to find out what kind of vehicles the parts were for. He said he told the board he would provide the pertinent paper records if they refunded his $150.

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