Wittig not yet in the clear

Wake may try to prosecute, considers audit of credit card use considers sweeping travel audit

RALEIGH -- County Manager David Cooke said Thursday he has turned over documentation about a travel and spending spree by a former employee to Wake District Attorney Colon Willoughby, raising the possibility of criminal prosecution.

In addition, Cooke plans to meet with an outside accounting firm Monday to discuss a sweeping audit of the past use of government credit cards by county employees.

The actions come two days after The News & Observer detailed 50 trips and questionable purchases made by Craig P. Wittig, 37, the former recycling program manager for the county's solid waste management division. He was fired June 3.

In the little more than two years he was employed by the county, Wittig averaged two out-of-town trips a month. He and five subordinates racked up $161,233 in travel costs and other expenses to credit cards issued by Wake County and paid for with public money.

Wittig was paid $61,190 a year.

"In my mind, nothing is more important than the stewardship of the taxpayers' money," Cooke wrote in a memorandum to Wake commissioners Thursday. "Our credibility is predicated on the belief and the reality that county employees, and the systems and processes that we implement, will protect the taxpayer. That did not happen in this case."

Wittig's boss, Solid Waste Management Director James S. Reynolds, signed off on the charges, which were often justified as reconnaissance of renowned museums and parks for establishing a "world class" environmental education program for the county, including plans for a new nature center at the recently closed North Wake Landfill.

"Management failed to adequately review and authorize these expenditures," Cooke wrote.

Reached at his Cary home, Wittig reiterated his view Thursday that he did nothing wrong and that seeking criminal charges or restitution from him would be unfair.

Among the benefits of his travel to taxpayers, Wittig said, is an electronics recycling program that saves the county $250,000 a year.

"I saved the county a lot of money," he said. "I reduced the operating expenses. Everything I did was approved by my supervisor."

The fact that Wittig's boss approved the expenses could provide a challenge to any criminal prosecution of the former employee.

"The fact the trips were approved is an issue we would want to review before requesting the sheriff or the Raleigh Police Department or some other appropriate agency to open a criminal investigation," Willoughby said.

Reynolds was demoted last month, but he has remained on the county payroll at a reduced annual salary of $85,000. No personnel action has been taken against Wittig's subordinates, who also went on some of the trips.

Cooke said he initially supported the decision of the county's new environmental services director, Tommy C. Esqueda, to demote Reynolds for approving the spending, rather than firing him. However, the county manager said Thursday he would personally review the actions of the others involved by Monday and make decisions about their future on a case-by-case basis.

About 535 county employees currently have the spending cards, which are intended to cut red tape and streamline the procurement of goods and services. About $6 million in county money was spent on the cards last year.

Cooke has ordered that all the cards be canceled by Aug. 1 and that employees reapply for approval to get them. He said he would also eliminate Wittig's former position as well as another unfilled position in the solid waste department, yielding about $180,000 in savings next year.

Public disclosure of Wittig's spending comes at a sensitive time for Wake commissioners. The board voted June 16 to impose a 2.5-cent property tax rate increase. Since news of the issue broke, county officials have fielded dozens of calls from outraged taxpayers.

Board Vice Chairwoman Betty Lou Ward, whose own frequent travel has been called into question in the past, said she supports Cooke's plans for a wider audit.

She has no sympathy for Wittig, she said.

"The question I have to ask is did he really understand government?" Ward said. "In the private sector, I guess this wouldn't have been a major deal. But I think when you have public money, you have to be especially careful."