As a book collector, book thieves are something that angrys up my blood. Not only did Austin hire a thief, they made it illegal to ask if he was a thief:
A former Austin Public Library employee is facing a pending criminal case after an internal investigation by the city auditor’s office alleged that he fraudulently bought and stole at least $1.3 million in printer toner and resold it online.
Randall Nelson Whited is charged with theft, a first-degree felony because the amount stolen is more than $200,000. The theft occurred from 2007 and 2019 when Whited could approve his own purchases and was subjected to little oversight by his supervisors, according to the auditor’s office.
Sounds like massive incompetence, something we’ve come to expect at just about every level of Austin government. (The possible exception being the police, who of course had their budget cut as a reward for their sanity.)
If you’re going to steal items for years on end, a consumable like toner for a large organization strikes me as a pretty good candidate.
The next thing? Not so much.
Whited also is accused of using city credit cards to buy at least $18,000 worth of items that appeared to be for his personal use, including video games, virtual reality headsets, robotic vacuums, and a drone from a big-box retailer.
Yeah, that sort of thing sends up huge red flags. You were running a $1.3 million scam and you got busted because you used a city credit card to buy an Oculus Rift and a Roomba. Credit cards leave paper trails, which is a big no-no if you were paying attention during Graft 101.
“The library’s poor practices and procedures provided an opportunity for Whited to steal from the city during his tenure, leading to waste and overspending by the department,” the auditor’s office noted in a 72-page report released Monday morning.
A background search shows Whited, who turns 54 this month, has been arrested multiple times on theft charges dating back to the mid-1980s. A city spokesman said Monday that criminal background investigations during Whited’s tenure showed no convictions within the last 10 years.
In 2008, the city banned the criminal history box from its employment application, and in 2016 the city committed to being a Fair Chance Hiring employer. The city conducts two types of criminal background checks, for positions that have financial responsibility or for vulnerable populations.
I’m sure the SUPERgeniuses running the city of Austin were quite shocked when the convicted thief stole from them. What are the odds?
Also, just what does the “for vulnerable populations” euphemism mean here? That you’re immune to background checks if you have a certain color skin?
Whited, according to the report, took advantage of poor purchasing reviews by his supervisors, former Financial Manager Victoria Rieger and Contract Management Specialist Monica McClure.
“Whited also took advantage of several other purchasing and budget-related shortcomings, such as having a role in the approval of his own purchases and insufficient oversight of the library’s budget by Rieger and Assistant Director Dana McBee,” the report said.
As an accounting associate, Whited was responsible for making and approving purchases, cash receipts, billing, and other accounting transactions, the report states.
What could possibly go wrong?
Since Whited allegedly started stealing things in 2007, this is a reminder that Austin leftist incompetence and mismanagement precedes the reigning clown show at City Hall, and will probably continue long after the current cadre of clowns is gone…
(Hat tip: Dwight.)