OIG Bulletin, November 2024
This issue of the OIG Bulletin includes news regarding recent OIG investigations, including the release of the Star Store Report about a state-funded lease that the OIG found to have wasted public funds.
Read the BulletinOIG’s Star Store Report: State Funded Lease Was Wasteful
Section 79 of Chapter 28 of the Acts of 2023 (Section 79) required the OIG to review the costs associated with the UMass Dartmouth’s use of the Star Store from September 7, 2021 to August 31, 2023. Using its authority under M.G.L. Chapter 12A, the OIG reviewed the entire 20-year lease.
Read the Press ReleaseOIG Investigation Finds Former Blackstone Council on Aging Director Had Improper Fiscal Relationship with Related Nonprofit
The OIG received a complaint in March 2022 alleging that the former director of the Blackstone Council on Aging made suspicious use of funds raised by the Friends of Blackstone Council on Aging.
Read the Press ReleaseOIG Investigation Finds that Former EEC Commissioner Steered $2.1 Million Contract to Specific Firm
A former EEC commissioner conducted an unfair and non-competitive procurement when hiring an educational consulting firm.
Read the Press ReleaseIG Shapiro Testifies at House Informational Hearing on Recommendation to Appoint a Receiver to Manage the Cannabis Commission
Shapiro explained that his hand was forced when the Commission changed the day-to-day responsibilities of the acting executive director at its June meeting.
Read the Press ReleaseMBTA Agreement with MassChallenge, Inc
The OIG found that the MBTA did not have a clear objective in pursuing the sponsorship agreement and did not oversee the contract and vendor by assigning a contract administrator. The OIG also found nothing to indicate that the MBTA followed through with its chosen startup to leverage the agreement’s anticipated benefits.
Read the LetterInspector General Shapiro Calls on the Town of Abington to Adopt Recommendations to Prevent Waste and Abuse of Town Resources
The Office of the Inspector General (OIG) issued its review of the Department of Public Works in the Town of Abington based upon a complaint about the former Department of Public Works Assistant Superintendent’s practice of not remitting the cash proceeds of scrap metal sales to the town treasurer.
Read the Press ReleaseA Review of Town of Abington’s Department of Public Works
In response to a complaint, the OIG investigated allegations that scrap metal collected from various town projects was sold to a recycling company and the case was not remitted to the town treasurer. During our investigation, we found that the town failed to implement several recommendations that the OIG made following a previous investigation into allegations of waste and abuse in the town’s Highway Department.
Read the ReviewOIG Issues Review of the Mashpee Housing Authority’s Consulting Contract with its Former Executive Director
The Office of the Inspector General (OIG) reviewed a 2020 consulting contract between Mashpee Housing Authority (MHA) and its former executive director, Leila Botsford. The OIG found that Ms. Botsford engaged in self-dealing and violated state procurement laws as executive director when she arranged for…
Read the Press ReleaseMashpee Housing Authority: Review of Contract with Former Executive Director
This report details what can happen when a leader of a small public agency exercises significant control over agency decision-making without appropriate oversight by the agency’s governing board. As the OIG views this, the apparent failure of board members to fully understand their fiduciary responsibilities and provide the necessary oversight can easily create significant risks of fraud, waste or abuse of public funds.
Read the ReviewFour Additional Former State Troopers Repaid Over $17,500 for Alleged Overtime Abuse, Bringing Total Recovered to Over $263,000
The Office of the Inspector General (OIG) and Office of the Attorney General (AGO) have recovered more than $263,000 from former Massachusetts State Police (MSP) troopers for alleged unworked overtime, including settlements in December 2022 and January 2023 with four troopers who paid a total of $17,584.…
Read the Press ReleaseFiscal practices at the Soldiers Home in Holyoke and by its Board of Trustees
The OIG found that the Holyoke Soldiers’ Home and its Board of Trustees had poor governance and management of funds derived from donations, canteen income, proceeds from lottery sales and veterans’ personal needs and had few internal controls and no segregation of duties relating to these funds.
Read the Letter