New York Public Personnel Law: Termination of employment recommended as the penalty for failure to follow proper procedure in safeguarding the property of an agency client

April 13, 2011

Termination of employment recommended as the penalty for failure to follow proper procedure in safeguarding the property of an agency client

Termination of employment recommended as the penalty for failure to follow proper procedure in safeguarding the property of an agency client

NYC Human Resources v Townsend, OATH Index #1325/11

A NYC Human Resources Administration client was arrested and Marvin Townsend, a supervising special officer, was assigned to process the arrest.

The client had a jacket with a Portable Sony Playstation (PSP) and wallet, in the pocket.

Townsend told the client he would not voucher the property and that she could get it from his office on the next day.

When the client retrieved the jacket, the PSP and wallet were missing. The PSP was subsequently returned to the client but the wallet was not.

ALJ Alessandra Zorgniotti found that the sergeant failed to follow vouchering procedures and attempted to cover up his actions and deceive the client. The Administrative Law Judge recommended that Townsend be terminated from his position.

The decision is posted on the Internet at:

http://archive.citylaw.org/oath/11_Cases/11-1325.pdf
.

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