[nfbmi-talk] Fw: the scandel that keeps on taking

[David Robinson]

----- Original Message ----- 
From: joe harcz Comcast 
To: eleanor canter 
Cc: Darma Canter ; David Robinson NFB MI ; terry Eagle ; Mark Eagle ; Laura Hall ; Sarah Gravetti MISILC DNM ; Rodney Craig MISILC ; Timothy Beatty RSA ; BRIAN SABOURIN ; Elmer Cerano MPAS ; MARK MCWILLIAMS MPAS 
Sent: Friday, August 21, 2015 11:13 AM
Subject: the scandel that keeps on taking


And who was the Chair of Career Alliance during the period of time these and other illegal activities were going on? And who in the public record as Chair made Pamela Loving the highest paid executive in Michigan for these job programs? Well none other than J. Michael Zelley, the Executive Director of The Disability Network, the Center for Independent Living in Flint, Michigan.

 

Joe Harcz

 

 

Career Alliance The Scandel That Keeps on Taking

(My headline. JH)

 

Gary Ridley | gridley at mlive.com . FLINT, MI -- The head of a public job-training agency convicted of embezzling more than $500,000 has been released from

probation, but records show taxpayers are more than a century away from being repaid for her theft. Pamela Loving, the former head of Career Alliance,

which is now known as Genesee/Shiawassee Michigan Works, was discharged from probation Wednesday, Aug. 19, following her 2013 conviction for embezzling

federal workforce development funds from the agency she oversaw. Loving was 70 when she was sentenced to five years of probation in December 2013. She

was discharged less than two years later after federal authorities said she "complied with the rules and regulations of probation and is no longer in need

of supervision," according to court records. Flint U.S. District Judge Mark A. Goldsmith also ordered Loving to pay more than $587,000 in restitution as

part of her sentence. Federal court records filed last month show Loving paid less than $9,000, or roughly $100 per week, toward the restitution since

her sentencing. At the current repayment rate, it would take Loving nearly 110 more years to repay all of the money she embezzled. At this rate, she would

need to live roughly 50 years longer than the Guinness World Record's oldest person ever. Loving and her attorney, Richard Morgan, could not be reached

for comment on the case or restitution payments. Loving's co-defendant, QB Pittman, who was Career Alliance's former chief financial officer, was also

ordered to pay more than $91,000 in restitution for his role in the thefts. He has made similarly slow progress in repaying his debt. Pittman, who claims

he did not directly benefit from the stolen funds but did nothing to stop the thefts, has paid less than $1,000 since his sentencing, according to court

records filed in May. At the current rate of repayment, it would take Pittman more than 150 years to meet his financial burden. However, Pittman said federal

authorities ordered him to pay $50 per month as part of a repayment plan and he has made his payments each month since the sentencing. Federal court officials

and prosecutors refused to disclose the terms of the restitution payments by claiming the information was not public, but writs of garnishment filed against

Loving and Pittman in Flint U.S. District Court revealed how much the pair has paid and how much they still owe. The writs, six in total, were filed from

May through July by the U.S. Attorney's Office, and seek to garnish payments expected to be made to the pair, including more than $1,500 in unpaid employer

pension contributions owed to them by the former Career Alliance. "The U.S. Attorney's Office uses all available legal tools, such as garnishment of wages,

to recover stolen funds for taxpayers," said U.S. Attorney Barbara McQuade. "Wrongdoers should not profit from their criminal conduct, especially in cases

like this one where defendants betrayed the public trust and stole taxpayer funds intended to promote employment and job training. Pittman said the writs

would likely force him to hand over to the government any money he receives. "If I get a big income tax check, they'll get that," Pittman said. Mark Dotson,

a law professor with Western Michigan University Cooley Law School, said the government could attempt to secure any remaining restitution from the defendants

upon their death, but they would have to line up along side any other creditors seeking payment. A third person, former Flint school board member Helen

Williams, was also ordered to pay more than $240,000 in restitution and placed on two years of probation for her role in the thefts. Court records do not

show how much Williams has paid on her case and federal authorities refused to disclose the terms of her repayment, claiming the information was not public.

Freedom of Information Act requests by the Flint Journal to Genesee/Shiawassee County Michigan Works show the agency has received nearly $5,500 in restitution

checks from the U.S. Department of Treasury for Loving, Pittman and Williams' cases. Williams was discharged from probation in July. Her attorney, Ken

Scott, could not be reached for comment on her case. The government has not filed any garnishment writs for her restitution. Of the four people convicted

in connection to the case, only former Flint Police Chief David Dicks has fulfilled his restitution order, according to information obtained through the

Flint Journal's FOIA request. Dicks made a lump-sum payment of $46,553 on May 21, 2010, according to information obtained through the FOIA request. "It

shows a very strong effort on his part to redeem himself and make a bad situation better," Dicks' attorney, Frank J. Manley, said of the payment. County,

state and federal investigators reported chronic mismanagement and improper spending at the former Career Alliance after a series of Flint Journal stories

in 2007 detailed problems at the organization. Career Alliance served as a job-training agency for Genesee and Shiawassee counties as well as the city

of Flint and was responsible for millions of dollars for employment programs. Craig Coney, CEO of Genesee/Shiawassee Michigan Works, could not be reached

for comment. Loving admitted to taking roughly $77,000 from the organization for her personal benefit and to pay for training sessions for people who did

not work for Career Alliance. However, federal authorities claimed that Loving inappropriately distributed funding to programs not authorized by the Department

of Labor, forcing Career Alliance to repay more than $500,000 to the state. Williams, who is Loving's cousin, served as executive director of Flint Family

Road, an organization started with the goal of reducing infant deaths by better preparing parents to be mothers and fathers, according to Flint Journal

files. She admitted in court to falsifying invoices to get money from Career Alliance contractors for services she never provided. Williams admitted in

court to embezzling more than $88,000. Pittman admitted to knowingly authorizing the fraudulent expenses. He was convicted of a misdemeanor and was sentenced

by a magistrate. The convictions of Loving, Williams and Pittman came more than three years after Dicks was sentenced to six months of home confinement

after he was accused of taking nearly $47,000 from a security company for services he allegedly provided at the same time he was serving as a police officer

or was taking classes at Mott Community College. Dicks' father, Richard Dicks, ran the security company that contracted its services to Career Alliance.

Federal charges against Richard Dicks were dismissed after he entered a federal diversion program in which he agreed to stay out of trouble for 18 months.

Federal prosecutors alleged money sent to the agency to help the unemployed was paid to David Dicks through a series of fraudulent billings. None of those

convicted were sentenced to jail time.

 

Flint Journal

August 21, 2015