Uh oh. Looks like a staff member of one of MoCo’s notorious and always-sanctimonious councilmembers abused their position and also the public trust (and wallet).
But which one? The mystery deepens.
Over at MontgomeryPerspective.com, Adam P has the initial scoop and has reprinted the Montgomery County OIG Memoranda letter.
Per that letter, the staffer in question has made:
several violations of county policy, law and regulations including abuse of prestige of office, misappropriation, false statements during the course of an investigation, and misconduct by a public employee.
But alas, the letter, dated September the 8th, doesn’t have a name included.
So which Councilmember hosted such a devious, dastardly individual? This person allegedly milked the taxpayer for about $11,500 and then proceeded to lie and lie some more about it.
Inspector General (OIG) recently concluded an investigation into allegations that a Montgomery County Council staff member inappropriately charged $11,490 worth of reservations of county athletic fields to the council’s ActiveMONTGOMERY account.
The individual did all this for their spouse’s personal use, not to host a public BBQ session.
So again, which one? Because CleanSlateMoCo.com has done prior in-depth investigative reporting on both the staffs of Will Jawando and Kristin Mink we have the screen caps to back up what / who was on their initial staff back in the winter and spring. Although Jawando’s staff has grown (why does he require six staffers and a “scheduler” when many other CMs have only staffs of four?) and turned over a bit, it doesn’t appear like the source of this OIG referral is from either of these two councilmembers. We’d have to assume that this person was likely let go in the past week, if these allegations are true.
It also seems unlikely that it would be from the staffs of more seasoned, careerist politicians like CM Friedson or CM Katz.
Any ideas? Is it someone on newcomer Natali Fani-Gonzalez staff? Someone on newcomer Dawn Luedtke’s staff?
Speaking of CM Luedtke, how come there aren’t any staff contacts listed on her Council page (screen cap below from September 15th)? Does she even have staff? Is it in transition? Why? Councilmember Kate Stewart has a contact page devoid of direct staff emails as well… but at least she posted a pic of her staff on it.
The mystery deepens. Which councilmember had this individual on staff and how long did this kind of behavior go on? OIG says it lasted over 2022 and part of 2023 until their investigation. If you know, drop us a line on X.com or give us a shout. We’d love to expose and investigate some more.
