Free Press Stories About VSEA Member Matt Gonyo

More allegations of time-sheet fraud

Written by MIKE DONOGHUE Free Press Staff Writer

©2013 Burlington Free Press 

State authorities have investigated 21 cases of possible time-sheet fraud by employees since a Vermont State Police patrol commander was caught padding his hours in July 2012, according to the Department of Human Resources.

Four time-sheet cases have been referred to law enforcement for possible criminal investigation, said Steve Collier, the Human Resources legal counsel. 

Collier said the 21 cases involve 20 employees, but he was unable to specify any names, including the four sent for criminal investigations. 

The state has about 8,000 employees, including 7,000 permanent workers. 

A more than two-week investigation by the Burlington Free Press has determined one time-sheet case involves longtime Liquor Control Investigator Matt Gonyo of Chittenden County. The former Grand Isle County deputy sheriff has spent 13 of his 15 years in law enforcement with Liquor Control.

Gonyo initially asked the Free Press how the newspaper became aware of his case. He later said his investigation is related to a whistle-blowing complaint he filed with Human Resources and with the office of Auditor Doug Hoffer. He declined to say what the complaint was about.

Gonyo referred further questions to the Vermont State Employees Association. Spokesman Doug Gibson said the union would like to speak but is waiting for Human Resources to complete an investigation.

Hoffer acknowledged Gonyo spoke to him about the operation of the Department of Liquor Control, but it is up to Human Resources to initially address the issues.

Vermont State Police Capt. J.P. Sinclair, who recently was named the department’s chief criminal investigator, said Tuesday he was aware of two time-sheet fraud complaints. One proved unfounded, and the other, which remains unresolved, involves Gonyo, Sinclair said. 

“It kicked off last summer, and the whole case is done and up to the Chittenden County State’s Attorney’s Office,” Sinclair said, referring to the Gonyo case. Sinclair said he spoke with the prosecutor’s office Tuesday, and no decision had been made on what, if anything, would be done. 

State’s Attorney T.J. Donovan would offer no confirmation that Gonyo is a target but said he was aware of a criminal investigation that remains under review by his office. 

“I have received a report from the Vermont State Police concerning possible fraud by a state employee,” Donovan said Tuesday. When asked the nature of the investigation, he responded “time-card fraud.” 

Donovan prosecuted former state police Sgt. Jim Deeghan, a longtime patrol commander in Chittenden and Lamoille counties. Deeghan bilked taxpayers out of about $213,000 from 2006-12 by filing false time-sheets, which also helped fatten his proposed pension. He was convicted, sentenced to two years in prison, served nine months and was released last month. He must make restitution by signing over his state pension.

William Goggins, the chief of education, licensing and enforcement for the Liquor Control Department, told the Free Press he was unaware of any investigation about Gonyo or any member in his department.=

Liquor Commissioner Michael J. Hogan said he believes he is unable to discuss cases involving his department because it would involve a personnel action. 

Human Resources investigator Peter Canales, a former Burlington police officer, handled the Gonyo case. 

“We are the fact-finders,” Canales told the Free Press. He said a report goes back to the department of the employee. 

The case did come to the attention of the Vermont State Police, who assigned Detective Sgt. Dan Elliot of the New Haven barracks. Attempts to reach Elliot were unsuccessful.

The Gonyo investigation 

The Free Press investigation determined the state inquiry centers on Gonyo’s time sheet from when he was part of the START Program, an anti-alcohol initiative.

The Stop Teen Alcohol Risk Team (START) program operated in several counties through June 30 under a grant from the state Health Department.

Shelburne Police Sgt. Allen Fortin, the START coordinator in Chittenden County, told the Free Press last week that he received a call from a Human Resources Department investigator asking about the work details of the program.

He estimated the call came in July, because the fiscal year had ended, and he was preparing his annual report for the Health Department.

Fortin said he was told little, but it was evident the state investigation focused on Gonyo, because he was the only state employee involved in the START detail.

Gonyo focused on coordinating extra downtown patrols, Fortin said, and a second officer from Hinesburg helped oversee patrols for high-school proms and other parties.

Gonyo was scheduled to work June 21 and June 28, Fortin said, and normally would work a seven-hour shift at an overtime rate.

Part-time Shelburne Officer Josh Otey, who also works full time for Bristol police, was the only other officer scheduled to work the START detail on June 28, Fortin said. 

“I didn’t see him,” Otey told the Free Press when asked if he saw Gonyo that night.

 Otey said Canales, the Human Resources investigator, interviewed him by phone about what the officer saw the night he worked the START detail.

Otey told the Free Press he arrived a little early for the roll call at Burlington police headquarters that evening, and a commander paired him immediately with a city officer, and they went out to work. 

Otey said he did not see anybody else working the START detail. He said it was possible Gonyo could have started later and been working elsewhere in the city with another Burlington officer. 

“I did what I was supposed to do,” Otey said. 

The other cases

Vermont Public Safety Commissioner Keith Flynn said he was disappointed to learn there had been 21 time sheet referrals since the Deeghan case.

He said the state employees have a long history of hard dedicated work. With 8,000 employees, a few may slip and that is disappointing to Flynn, Vermont’s top cop.

“I’m always surprised that a public servant might have decided to falsify something,” Flynn said Tuesday.

“I do think it is important, when there is an allegation, that it is investigated and when appropriate that it is referred to a prosecutor to make the call,” said Flynn, a former Orleans County state’s attorney. 

Deeghan claimed hours never worked, investigations never conducted and court appearances that never happened. He also created nearly 1,000 bogus traffic tickets to try to show he was working. 

In the case’s aftermath, the state police increased oversight, including accountability for overtime, added extra supervision on night shift and worked to prevent members from approving their own time sheets.

Gov. Peter Shumlin helped push through legislation earlier this year that will allow the state to seize pensions of government employees involved in theft, embezzlement, fraud and other crimes.

Attempts to reach Shumlin on Tuesday were unsuccessful.

Shumlin was upset during a July 11, 2012 news conference that followed a Free Press report about Deeghan’s suspension and a sweeping investigation into state police time cards.

"This administration will not tolerate taxpayers being robbed from in any way, shape or form," Shumlin said.

State Police Director Tom L’Esperance said at the news conference that other troopers felt betrayed by Deeghan’s alleged actions.

"This is a case of a public servant who was entrusted with a job to do," L’Esperance said. 

"He betrayed his badge, his core values, and across the state this will have a shock wave among state police members that will have a long-lasting effect."

An independent audit of the Vermont Public Safety Department released in February 2013 showed the payroll system was well-managed for the most part and no other evidence of wrong doing besides Deeghan.

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Prosecutor declines to pursue time-sheet case against Vermont liquor investigator Gonyo

Written by MIKE DONOGHUE Free Press Staff Writer

A longtime Vermont liquor investigator will face no criminal charges regarding his time sheets, Chittenden County State’s Attorney T.J. Donovan says. 

The case centers on investigator Matt Gonyo and the hours he claimed while working in June on a special anti-alcohol initiative known as the START Program, according to the Vermont State Police investigation. 

Detective Sgt. Dan Elliot reported that the GPS tracker in Gonyo’s state-issued police vehicle showed him at his Colchester home for about three hours that he was expected to be working in Burlington the night of June 28 for START, which stands for Stop Teen Alcohol Risk Team. 

“I have declined to prosecute. There is insufficient evidence,” Donovan told the Burlington Free Press this week.

“Accountability can be brought by a different system then just the criminal justice system,” he said. 

Donovan said he made the decision after a thorough review of the case he and members of his office conducted. 

Gonyo said he was pleased to learn the case was closed but is waiting to hear the outcome of a complaint he had filed earlier about the operation of the Vermont Liquor Control Department. 

He told the Free Press two weeks ago that he believed the investigation into his time sheet was sparked by a whistle-blowing complaint he filed with the Vermont Department of Human Resources and with the office of State Auditor Doug Hoffer. 

The Vermont State Employees Association has been helping Gonyo battle the time-sheet investigation.

“What happened to Matt Gonyo is exactly why the VSEA will continue campaigning hard for enhanced protections for state employees who blow the whistle on corruption and fraud,” VSEA Communications Coordinator Doug Gibson said.

Gonyo is a 15-year police veteran. He started as a Grand Isle County deputy sheriff, worked almost a year at the Burlington Police Department and for about 13 years with liquor control. Gonyo said he has “never received any disciplinary action from my office.” 

Denies wrongdoing

“We deny any wrongdoing pretty strenuously,” one of Gonyo’s Burlington lawyers, Chris Davis of Langrock, Sperry and Wool, told the Burlington Free Press.

Attorney Alison J. Bell, who works with Davis, said Liquor Control requested the investigation of Gonyo in retaliation for grievances Gonyo raised through the state employees union regarding the operation of the department. 

“The VSEA is taking the lead on those grievances. The gist of the grievances,” Bell said, “is there has been a pattern of treatment and mistreatment in retaliation for raising issues about his supervisor’s conduct.” 

She said part of the issue is the use and allocation of department overtime. 

Bell said it was odd the state police were contacted instead of using ordinary internal state government procedures. 

“We want his name to be cleared,” Davis said.

The Burlington Free Press reported Nov. 13 that the Vermont Human Resources Department has investigated 21 complaints concerning time sheets filed by state employees since July 1, 2012. Human Resources said four cases were referred to police for follow-up.

A more than two-week investigation by the Free Press determined one time-sheet case turned over to police involved Gonyo. 

The state police investigation by Elliot, the detective, who is assigned to the New Haven barracks, followed an internal inquiry by Peter Canales, a state investigator with Human Resources. 

The investigation 

More details about the Gonyo case surfaced this week in response to a series of recent Vermont public records requests filed by the Free Press. The requests covered the Liquor Control Department, the state police, Human Resources and the Chittenden County State’s Attorney’s Office. 

The records show Gonyo was scheduled to work START from 7:30 p.m. June 28 to 2:30 a.m. June 29. The investigation showed he signed on at 7:38 p.m. from his Colchester home but did not leave his residence until 10:16 p.m., according to the documents made public this week. The records show he signed off at home for the night at 2:17 a.m.

A START activity sheet filed by Gonyo indicated he worked from 7:30 p.m. to 2:30 a.m., records show. 

The state police report indicates there were no radio entries made by Gonyo or anybody else documenting his involvement in any law-enforcement activities. 

Elliot noted in his report that Shelburne police Sgt. Allen Fortin, the coordinator of START in Chittenden County, said participates were paid in grant money and were expected to perform duties related to START only.

Records show Gonyo was being paid $39.24 per hour for the detail. 

William Goggins, director of education, licensing and enforcement for the Vermont Liquor Control Department, said Tuesday he had yet to be updated on the status of the Gonyo complaint. 

“I have not heard,” Goggins said when told Donovan was declining to pursue the Gonyo case. 

Goggins said it was the first time since he took over the department in 2001 that he had faced such a case going to a state’s attorney. 

Accountability 

Steve Collier, legal counsel for Human Resources, has said the 21 time-sheet cases the department has handled in the past 18 months involve 20 employees. 

He said five of those employees have been terminated or have resigned. Three other cases have been closed —two with no action and one with a suspension. 

Seven still are being investigated, while six are back in the hands of the appointing authority to determine how they wish to proceed, Collier said this week. 

The state has about 8,575 employees spread across the executive, judicial and legislative branches, along with about 915 temporary employees, Human Resources Director Kate Duffy said.

The state has placed greater emphasis on time-sheet accountability following the arrest of Vermont State Police Sgt. Jim Deeghan in July 2012 on fraud charges. Donovan prosecuted the former longtime patrol commander in Chittenden and Lamoille counties. Deeghan bilked taxpayers out of about $213,000 from 2006-12 by filing false time sheets, which also helped fatten his proposed pension

Deeghan claimed hours never worked, investigations never conducted and court appearances that never happened. He also created nearly 1,000 bogus traffic tickets to try to show he was working. 

Deeghan was convicted, sentenced to two years in prison, served nine months and was released in October. He must make restitution by signing over his state pension and must complete 500 hours of community service in Vermont.

In the Gonyo case, Fortin, the START coordinator in Chittenden County, told the Free Press this month he received a call from a Human Resources Department investigator asking about the work details of the program. He estimated the call came in July. 

Fortin said he was told little, but it was evident the state investigation focused on Gonyo, because he was the only state employee involved in the START detail.

Part-time Shelburne Officer Josh Otey, who also works full time for Bristol police, was the only other officer scheduled to work the START detail June 28, Fortin said. Otey told the Free Press this month he did not see Gonyo working that night.

Vermont Public Safety Commissioner Keith Flynn has said he believes it is important that any allegation dealing with time sheets be properly investigated and reviewed by a prosecutor. He said it is essential for public accountability.
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Unfair labor practice charge filed in time sheet case

Written by MIKE DONOGHUE Free Press Staff Writer

 

An investigation into a Vermont Liquor Control investigator’s time sheet was a retaliatory act by management after it was questioned about the overtime collected by the head of the department’s enforcement division, according to a new unfair labor practice charge.

The Vermont State Employees Association filed the labor charge after Chittenden County State’s Attorney T.J. Donovan said he would not file a criminal case because management questioned about three hours claimed by the investigator on his time sheet. 

The VSEA labor complaint notes Investigator Matt Gonyo and his colleagues were concerned about several workplace issues, including distribution of overtime, but he soon found himself under investigation twice in six months for his time sheets. 

In the first case it centered on one hour of work, the complaint said. The second time sheet case focused on about three hours in June. That case eventually went to state police and on to Donovan, who said he would not prosecute the case for lack of evidence. 

A six-week investigation by the Burlington Free Press, including several requests for public records paints a picture of deep concerns and distrust in the enforcement section of the Liquor Control Department for at least a year.

The records show a small group of liquor investigators and VSEA members, including Gonyo on Jan. 2, 2013, “reported potential issues and irregularities with the time sheets of their supervisor, Bill Goggins.”

They questioned whether Goggins was charging state taxpayers for his daily commute between his home in Derby and his work in Montpelier.

Goggins, in a phone interview Friday afternoon, said there was little he could say because of the pending union grievances. When asked generally about overtime pay in his office, Goggins said he was entitled to overtime like all other state classified employees

Goggins, who worked for Burlington police for three years, joined Liquor Control in 1991 and became the chief of education, licensing and enforcement in 2001.

The public records show Gonyo and other investigators as part of the grievance process met on Feb. 14 with Goggins and others to discuss issues, including the distribution of overtime. 

Goggins was quoted as saying, “You have no idea what I do in a day” and refused to provide further information about his personal overtime use, the unfair labor practice charge alleges.

Two weeks later Gonyo said he was contacted by a Vermont Human Resources investigator that he was being investigated due to a complaint of alleged time sheet fraud, the records show.

Gonyo said he learned on March 14 the complaint centered on one hour of work. 

Gonyo said he explained his activities for the hour in question. That same day Gonyo filed a grievance against the Liquor Control Department for “retaliation related to his inquiries regarding Mr. Goggins’ overtime leave records.”

Gonyo’s grievance was “unilaterally held in abeyance by the state” through a letter from Liquor Commissioner Michael J. Hogan, records show. 

Gonyo also was among those present at a series of grievance meetings June 9, July 9 and Aug. 15 concerning the distribution of overtime and change in work rules, the complaint said. 

Because of the concerns of Gonyo and his co-workers, the VSEA said it contacted Vermont Auditor Doug Hoffer on Aug. 23 to seek an investigation into overtime use by Goggins. Hoffer told the Free Press until human resources finished its work there was little he could do.

Gonyo said Vermont State Police contacted him Aug. 27 to say he “was the target of a criminal investigation pertaining to time sheet fraud,” the complaint said. Detective Sgt. Dan Elliot said it centered on Gonyo’s whereabouts for 2.75 hours of a work shift on June 28. 

The public records also show a letter from the VSEA was sent Aug. 21 to Hogan expressing concern the grievances were not being taken seriously. The letter says a copy also went to Liquor Board Chair Stephanie O’Brien of South Burlington.

The VSEA told Hogan efforts were made “to resolve issues at the lowest level possible. Nonetheless, no action was taken to remedy the issues. This is especially concerning as it appears that funds used for overtime are possibly being mismanaged,” the letter said.

The VSEA said it was concerned the five-member state liquor control board may be unaware of the labor issues.

O’Brien told the Free Press she did get a copy of the VSEA letter, but the state board only oversee the work of Commissioner Hogan and his executive assistant.

Donovan, as state’s attorney in Chittenden County, was asked to review the investigation of Gonyo by human resources and state police. After reviewing the statements and evidence collected, Donovan said he would pass on the case.

“I have declined to prosecute. There is insufficient evidence,” Donovan said last month. “Accountability can be brought by a different system then just the criminal justice system.”

Donovan said he also had the benefit of hearing from Gonyo’s lawyers.

Elliot’s report said the GPS tracker in Gonyo’s state-issued police vehicle showed him at his Colchester home for about three hours on the night of June 28 when he was scheduled to work an extra detail. It was part of an anti-alcohol program known as START, which stands for Stop Teen Alcohol Risk Team.

Gonyo has said he was happy the case was closed but still needs to hear the outcome of the department overtime complaint.

He told the Free Press in November he believed his workplace problems were sparked by the whistle-blowing complaint he filed with the Department of Human Resources and Hoffer.

“Here’s an employee who blew the whistle on what he believed was time sheet fraud by a superior, and he is subsequently subjected to two separate time sheet fraud investigations by Human Resources; both of which resulted in no discipline,” VSEA Communications Coordinator Doug Gibson told the Burlington Free Press.

“This is clearly retaliation and discrimination against Mr. Gonyo for his at attempt to blow the whistle on a manager’s possible time sheet fraud. These investigations against Mr. Gonyo —one of which goes back nine months —have not resulted in discipline, which would then trigger the grievance procedure and intensive discovery requests by VSEA.”

He said it appears to be an effort to muzzle Gonyo.

“VSEA believes they are part of a comprehensive effort on behalf of the state of Vermont to silence and shame Mr. Gonyo.”

The unfair labor practice charge also alleges the state leaked what the union believes was “confidential materials to the Burlington Free Press” as part of the retaliation against Gonyo for his union activities.

Making it public 

Gonyo, a 15-year police veteran, said he has never been disciplined by liquor control. He started as a Grand Isle County deputy sheriff, worked almost a year at the Burlington Police Department and for about 13 years with liquor control.

Gibson said he wonders how the investigation of Gonyo became public. He said “Mr. Gonyo’s name mysteriously appears prominently in the pages of the Free Press, including that he is under investigation…”

He questioned if that was possibly further retaliation and discrimination against Gonyo.

“VSEA believes they are part of a comprehensive effort on behalf of the State of Vermont to silence and shame Mr. Gonyo,” Gibson said.

One of Gonyo’s lawyers, Alison J. Bell said she also believes Liquor Control requested the investigation of Gonyo in retaliation for grievances he raised through the VSEA.

She said part of the issue is the use and allocation of department overtime.

The state has placed an increased emphasis on time-sheet accountability following the arrest of Vermont State Police Sgt. Jim Deeghan in July 2012 on fraud charges.

Deeghan, a former longtime patrol commander in Chittenden and Lamoille counties, bilked taxpayers out of about $213,000 from 2006-12 by filing false time sheets. The fraud was designed to help fatten his proposed pension.

Deeghan claimed hours never worked, investigations never conducted and court appearances that never happened. He also created nearly 1,000 bogus traffic tickets to try to show he was working.

Deeghan was convicted, sentenced to two years in prison, served nine months and was released in October and needs to complete 500 hours of public service in Vermont.