Hurricane Sandy: Treasurer Claims He Was Fired After Reporting QuestionableTransactions
A treasurer hired to review Hurricane Sandy spending was fired not long after allegedly finding questionable spending habits. Thomas Sadowski was “expelled” by the state of New York after a series of recommendations to improve procurement procedures were issued.
The Superstorm Sandy treasurer noted a belief that poor oversight was utilized in relation to the state credit cards, the Times Union reports. Items Thomas Sadowski noted in his included concerns about the purchase of iPads and orders for a fleet of SUVs.
Sadowski’s report also stated the government officials had purchased and rented equipment which should have been garnered months prior. The Hurricane Sandy treasurer also maintains that assets were acquired which did not appear to be needed for the immediate super storm recovery and clean up tasks.
Thomas Sadowski had this to say about the allegedly questionably Superstorm Sandy transactions:
“They’re trying to get stuff that would be cool to have, but we don’t really need it for this incident – but maybe we can get the feds to pay for it. I didn’t believe I did anything to be escorted off the premises. I wasn’t trying to get back at anybody or get anybody in trouble. I was relieved of my duties because I identified these problems.”
The treasurer also claims that “many” pieces of equipment were almost impossible to track once they went out into the hurricane relief area. The items which Sadowski was concerned about not being able to track include “millions of dollars” in generators, provisions, pumps, and light towers. The treasurer noted that as a result of the tracking breakdown, the state of New York was not sure what it had leased, owned, or lost during the initial response to Hurricane Sandy.
The 63-year-old treasurer retired in 1983 after working in the federal government for 32 years. Sadowski also stated that he was “escorted” out of the New York Office of Emergency Managemet after filing the report which criticized some hurricane relief practices, 14U News notes.
