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Sources: Bloomberg Ignored Warnings About CityTime
By
Christopher Robbins
Published Sep 6, 2011
Modified Sep 6, 2011
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By
Christopher Robbins
Published Sep 6, 2011
Modified Sep 6, 2011
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While we debate Hizzoner's white lies about the Goldsmith imbroglio, keep in mind there is a much pricier scandal that should make everyone thoroughly pissed. Back in June, Mayor Bloomberg finally admitted in a press conference that the $740 million CityTime disaster was in fact not a "pretty good job" as he'd previously stated, but a debacle that "nobody paid as much attention to it as they should have, from me on down, and we’re going to find out who did what." However, three sources tell the Post that at least one city official did pay attention, and warned Bloomberg's advisors that CityTime was a huge waste of money, and should have been scrapped.
Paul Cosgrave, then the administration's commissioner of information technology, "was of the mind that, frankly, they should have just shut the project down. They were just spending money without a clear management process in place." According to the sources, after Cosgrave spoke up in 2007, Bloomberg's aides told him, "We'll look into it." Which they did…after millions had been stolen and the US Attorneys filed their criminal indictment. Cosgrave himself has been the subject of some scrutiny after inviting the city's IT contractors to schmancy outings, and resigned following problems with the city's new 911 system.
Yet by 2007, much of the damage had already been done, as CityTime was way behind schedule and had exceeded its budget by hundreds of millions of dollars. Recently, the federal investigation into CityTime has focused on the mayor's former leader of the Office of Payroll Administration, Joel Bondy, who is good friends with Mark Mazer, the mastermind of the CityTime embezzlement scheme. Bondy has resigned his $205K-year job in December.
Even after Bloomberg has asked for a $600 million refund from CityTime's contractor, a spokesman for the mayor tells the paper that, "The system works, and it's already providing value and is going to provide value for years and years to come." Sure CityTime's payroll improvements are only used by 35% of city employees, but one day we'll rename the Brooklyn Bridge the CityTime Viaduct and send our kids to CityTime High School once everyone realizes how much taxpayer money they "saved."
Tagged
boondoggles
citytime
embezzlement
fraud
mayor bloomberg
payroll
Christopher Robbins
Christopher Robbins is a New York City reporter covering transportation, affordable housing, local politics, and criminal justice. His work has also appeared in New York Magazine, The Village Voice and The New York Times. Chris is a graduate of Patrick Henry High School in Roanoke, Virginia, and enjoys biking to Fort Tilden in the summertime.
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