Report Says 13 Custodians Cheated Schools
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A group of 13 custodians cheated city schools out of tens of thousands of dollars by rigging contracts for cleaning supplies, according to a report released yesterday by investigators.
Last year a separate probe into a bidrigging scheme led to the arrest of 16 custodians. One of the 13 custodians accused yesterday, Herbert Bradley, was arrested previously in a separate scheme in which 31 custodians were charged with steering school window-washing contracts. He pleaded guilty and paid a $1,000 fine.
The report released yesterday by Special Commissioner for Investigation Richard Condon said the cleaning supply companies listed on expense forms the custodians submitted were fake. In two cases, custodians listed a coffee company and an architecture firm as companies that had submitted bids to sell the schools cleaning supplies.
Mr. Bradley allegedly replaced the tires on his truck using school money acquired in the scheme. He paid for the tires with a check he had written for cleaning supplies that were never delivered, according to the report.
Mr. Bradley could not be reached for comment.
The fake companies were set up by outside individuals who used false addresses and letterhead to submit multiple bids, the report says. Three of the custodians being investigated, including Mr. Bradley, have already retired, but 10 are still assigned to schools. Investigators recommended that they be fired.
An education department spokesman, Keith Kalb, said the department would seek to fire the custodians.
“We will not tolerate any type of fraudulent behavior,” he said.
In 1999, the city enacted a new policy in requiring custodians to submit competitive bids for services and supplies costing more than $251.