Sisters admit theft of $22,000 of their deceased mother's New York State pension payments

State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli and Westchester County District Attorney Anthony A. Scarpino, Jr. announced the convictions of two sisters alleged to have concealed the death of their mother in order to unlawfully obtain nearly $22,000 from the Retirement System following her death.

The two Westchester County residents each pleaded guilty to one count of felony grand larceny in the fourth degree.* In addition, the sisters have judgments against them to repay the stolen Retirement System funds.

The Comptroller said "[t]hose who try to scam the retirement system will be held accountable" and thanked Westchester County D.A. Scarpino, Jr. "for prosecuting these thefts.”

It was reported that both are to appeared before Westchester County Court Judge David Zuckerman on January 6, 2021, for sentencing.

Individuals may report alleged fraud involving public monies to the State Comptroller by calling the toll-free Fraud Hotline at 1-888-672-4555, by mailing a report of such allegations to the Office of the State Comptroller, Division of Investigations, 14th Floor, 110 State St., Albany, NY 12236, or by reporting alleged misconduct using the Internet [investigations@osc.state.ny.us].

Westchester County District Attorney Scarpino, Jr. leads the second largest district attorney’s office in New York State. Individuals may email the District Attorney's Office [info@westchesterda.net] to report allegations of fraud involving public funds.

* New York State Penal Code Article 155, posted on the Internet at http://ypdcrime.com/penal.law/article155.htm

Worker Classification - employee or independent contractor - Internal Revenue Service Webinar scheduled for October 7, 2020

The Tax Exempt and Government Entities Division of the Internal Revenue Service has issued a reminder inviting interested individuals who have not already done so should click here to registerfor the free Worker Classification Webinar to be held on October 7, 2020 at 1:00 p.m. (ET).

This Webinar is designed to help government entities and not-for-profit organizations understand the definition of an employee and determine whether a particular worker is an employee or an independent contractor.*

The Webinar will also cover IRS Form SS-8, Classification Settlement Agreements, and what to do if an individual is determined to be an employee.

Questions may be submitted to TEGE.outreach@IRS.gov inserting as the subject line:

 Pre-submitted questions for the Workers Classification Webinar (October 7).

Questions submitted will be answered as time permits.

Additional information is posted on the Internet at: Webinars for Tax Exempt & Government Entities.

 * See, also, https://publicpersonnellaw.blogspot.com/2014/12/determining-if-individual-is-employee.html

 

Lucha contra la mala conducta en el trabajo

Lucha contra la mala conducta en el trabajo: los empleadores pueden poner a disposición de su personal una "aplicación" (la aplicación #NotMe) que permite la presentación fácil y oportuna de quejas de presunta mala conducta del supervisor o compañero de trabajo a los oficiales de personal, equipos de recursos humanos, oficiales de cumplimiento o individuos designados. Haga clic en https://www.not-me.com/organizationspara obtener información sobre este programa.

 

Audits of State Departments and Agencies issued September 25, 2020

On September 25, 2020, New York State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli announced the following audits have been issued.

Click on the text in color to access the full report. 

Department of Environmental Conservation: Oversight of Waste Tire Cleanup and Use of Waste Tire Fees (Follow-Up) (2020-F-12) A report issued in August 2019 found that DEC had made significant progress abating identified waste tire sites. However, auditors identified delays in the timely abatement of waste tire sites due to delays in establishing a new abatement contract through the Office of General Services as well as other problems with certain enforcement steps. In a follow-up, auditors found that DEC has implemented all three of the recommendations from the initial report.  

Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC): Title V Operating Permit Program Revenues, Expenditures, and Changes in Fund Balance for the Eight Fiscal Years Ended March 31, 2017 (2020-F-13) An audit covering the period April 1, 2009 through March 31, 2017 found DEC generally had adequate procedures in place to capture the Clean Air Act program’s revenues, expenditures and changes in fund balance transaction data. However, auditors identified errors in the permit fee billing process and in the allocation of expenses to the program. In a follow-up, auditors found DEC has made significant progress in correcting the problems identified in the prior report.  

Department of Health (DOH): Medicaid Overpayments for Inpatient Care Involving Mechanical Ventilation Services (Follow-Up) (2020-F-10) A report released in May 2019 identified $975,795 in overpayments on 32 inpatient claims that reported 96 consecutive hours or more of mechanical ventilation services. In a follow-up, auditors found DOH officials made some progress in addressing the problems identified in the initial audit report; however, additional action is needed.  

Department of Labor (Labor), Department of Taxation and Finance (Tax and Finance): New York Youth Jobs Program (Follow-Up) (2020-F-7) A report issued in January 2019, found Labor could improve its methods for verifying eligibility for the youth jobs program, and that Tax and Finance could better ensure that the tax credits granted are accurate and only for program-eligible youth. In a follow-up, auditors found that Labor and Tax and Finance implemented the five recommendations from the initial audit. 

Office of Mental Health (OMH): Administration of the Contract With the Postgraduate Center for Mental Health (Follow-Up) (2020-F-51) A report issued in December 2016, determined sampled clients under the Supportive Housing Contract with the Postgraduate Center for Mental Health were eligible for the program, were referred to the program via the proper authorities and that client case files contained required documentation. However, visits to certain client apartments identified what appeared to be ongoing conditions that could negatively affect the health or safety of clients. In a follow-up, auditors found OMH has made some progress addressing the issues identified in the initial report. 

Division of Military and Naval Affairs: Lead Contamination of State Armories (2019-S-50) Auditors found public access has continued at four armories that contain lead levels exceeding the acceptable threshold. None of these four armories disclosed the excess lead levels to the public. Three are allowing public access through non-military use agreements that include a women’s shelter and a community center. One is a now a military museum. Auditors also found lead hazard awareness training was not provided to employees at three armories. 

Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation: Compliance With Executive Order 95 (Open Data) (2019-S-65)The office has taken steps to meet the requirements of Executive Order (EO) 95; however, certain aspects of the order have not been fully addressed. Within the required time frame, the office appointed a qualified data coordinator responsible for EO 95 compliance. However, it did not identify the total population of publishable state data that it maintains. Therefore, there is limited assurance the office has provided a complete catalogue or established a schedule for making the data public, as required.  

New York City Department of Sanitation (DSNY): Street and Sidewalk Cleanliness (2019-N-1) DSNY needs to improve its communication, coordination and record keeping processes to efficiently and effectively address persistent cleanliness problems on New York City streets and sidewalks. Based on site visits to a sample of 271 areas with multiple complaints, auditors determined 189 streets and 159 sidewalks were dirty based on ratings criteria. DSNY officials did not analyze readily available data such as service requests or its own monitoring records to identify problem areas or trends.

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Local government 2019 Fiscal Stress Scores announced by New York State's Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli

Warning that the COVID-19 pandemic could push more local governments into serious fiscal stress, on September 24, 2020, New York State's Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli reported that twenty-two local governments* that were designated in fiscal stress for 2019. The scores were based on financial information reported by local governments operating on a calendar year basis for pre-pandemic Jan. 1 – Dec. 31 for 2019. ** 

In the words of the State Comptroller: “We’ve been closely tracking the trends and common problems that communities in fiscal stress are facing. Now the economic damage caused by the pandemic has dramatically altered the fiscal landscape, and many communities are struggling to provide critical services and pay their bills. Without aid from Washington, the options are bleak for local governments trying to stay in the black, and many more local governments may be pushed into serious fiscal stress.”

Comptroller DiNapoli’s Monitoring System informs the public about local governments’ financial health by evaluating and scoring municipalities on financial indicators such as year-end fund balance, cash-on-hand, short-term borrowing, fixed costs and patterns of operating deficits. The system also evaluates population trends, poverty and unemployment to establish separate “environmental” scores for each municipality.

In total, Comptroller DiNapoli has designated 31 local governments in fiscal stress for 2019. This includes nine local governments with non-calendar fiscal years announced in March, including the cities of Long Beach [Nassau County] and Amsterdam [Montgomery County] which had the highest fiscal stress scores in the state.

The State Comptroller also released a report on common elements shared by the 31 local governments in fiscal stress. It also noted the fiscal stress risks associated with COVID-19 on local finances, including sharp declines in sales tax revenue, significant withholding of state aid payments to local governments, and existing stress factors such as low fund balance. The report highlighted the targeted training and guidance offered by the State Comptroller’s Office to help local officials dealing with financial challenges.

Also included were the following: 

Lists
Municipalities in Stress for Fiscal Year Ending 2019
Municipalities Who Did Not File or Designated Inconclusive 

Excel Spreadsheet
Detailed List of All Municipalities in State and Fiscal Stress Points 

Report
Fiscal Stress Monitoring System – Municipalities: Fiscal Year 2019 Results and Fiscal Year 2020 Risks 

Toolkit
http://wwe1.osc.state.ny.us/localgov/fiscalmonitoring/fsms.cfm 

* In January, DiNapoli issued fiscal stress scores for school districts and found 33 school districts designated in some level of fiscal stress for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2019. 

** All New York State's counties and towns, 44 cities and 10 village.