California Bureau of State Audits Releases Report: Investigations of Improper Activities by State Agencies and Employees – July 2010 Through March 2011

Here is the entire report:

Here are some examples of abuse:

Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation

The chief psychologist at a correctional facility operated by the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (Corrections) used his state-compensated time and state equipment to perform work related to his private psychology practice, costing the State up to an estimated $212,261 in lost productivity over nearly five years.

California Energy Commission

An employee and a personnel specialist at the California Energy Commission falsified time and attendance records to enable theemployee—at the time of her retirement—to receive a payment for unused annual leave that was higher than the amount to which she was entitled, costing the State an estimated $6,589.

Department of Transportation

For nearly three years, a transportation planning supervisor for the Department of transportation neglected his duty to supervise the work of a subordinate transportation planner,resulting in the transportation planner receiving compensation,including overtime pay, for which the State lacked assurance that the transportation planner performed adequate work to justify the compensation.

Department of Fish and Game

A manager at the Department of Fish and Game improperlydirected an employee under his supervision to use a state vehicle forcommuting between her home and work locations at a cost to theState of $8,282 over a nine-month period. In addition, the employeeimproperly requested—and the manager improperly approved—reimbursement for $595 in lodging and meal expenses incurred bythe employee near her work headquarters

Department of Industrial Relations

An official and a supervisor at a district office of the Department of Industrial Relations failed to monitor adequately the time reporting of four subordinate employees from July 2007 through June 2009.

State Controller’s office

An employee with the State Controller’s Office failed to report an estimated 322 hours of absences over an 18-month period. Because her supervisor, a high-level official, failed to monitor adequately her time reporting, the State paid the employee $6,591 for hours she did not work.

Department of Mental Health

An official appointed to a post at the Department of Mental Health claimed he was conducting state business in 2009 when he hobnobbed with celebrities in Southern California, planned fundraising galas and attended events such as golf tournaments, the Golden Globe Awards, a celebrity’s funeral and a Julio Iglesias concert. Those activities, he said, allowed him to network with celebrities and enlist their support for Mental Health programs.

The auditor said the activities didn’t benefit the state, but it did cost at least $51,244 in salary for the wasted time. The official used a state car, but the bureau couldn’t figure out how much of the official’s travel wasn’t on state business, so it didn’t estimate that cost.

Good grief!