THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, February 5, 1995 TAG: 9502050065
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B2 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS
DATELINE: RICHMOND LENGTH: Medium: 90 lines
Officials say a hot line for reporting fraud in state agencies is a success, saving taxpayers nearly $900,000 and leading to firings and criminal convictions since it began in October 1992.
But critics say the discretion of hot line officials, who use the Virginia Freedom of Information Act to protect the identities of those investigated as well as whistle-blowers, is misplaced.
In response to a request by the Richmond Times-Dispatch for records of actions taken to stem fraud and abuse, the state internal auditor's office last week provided 170 pages of documents.
Deleted throughout were the names of agencies and people, job titles and in most cases, the gender of those involved.
``There are some agencies that are so small that to identify the agency would be in effect identifying the persons involved in the investigation,'' state Internal Auditor John Huston said.
State Sen. R. Edward Houck, D-Spotsylvania, said the names of those involved in wasteful spending of taxpayer dollars are public information. Houck heads a general laws subcommittee dealing with Freedom of Information Act legislation.
``The (internal auditor) is doing a disservice to the public,'' he said. ``In this case, the department is exercising the wrong discretion. This is public information that must be disclosed.''
The Virginia Freedom of Information Act, enacted in 1968, guarantees access to government meetings and public records.
But the General Assembly has enacted more than 50 exemptions to the act.
The exemptions are intended to provide secrecy in pending court cases, personnel disputes, real estate transactions and other situations where the release of information could jeopardize the public interest or personal privacy.
One of those exemptions concerns the State Employee Fraud, Waste and Abuse Hotline.
The exemption says records of completed investigations may be released to the public ``in a form that does not reveal the identity of complainants, persons supplying information or other individuals involved in the investigation.''
The state says the exemption gives it the right to keep secret all names of agencies and individuals - innocent whistle-blowers as well as those convicted or fired for defrauding taxpayers.
But a patron of legislation that modified the exemption, Del. Alan A. Diamonstein, D-Newport News, said the goal of the legislation was to protect the good guys.
``Our original intent was obviously to secure the confidence of the individual who filed the complaint,'' Diamonstein said.
The hot line, which is nontraceable and toll-free, received 1,034 calls from Oct. 1, 1993, through Sept. 30, 1994.
Investigations were completed in 980 cases, according to an annual report from the internal auditor's office. Of those, 272, or 28 percent, found some form of fraudulent, wasteful or abusive activity.
Some of those tips resulted in firings or criminal convictions, Huston said. While the information released by his office mentioned a number of firings, it did not provide total numbers.
Huston said he referred some cases to the state police for further investigation, but neither he nor the state police could say how many convictions resulted from hot line tips.
Incidents of wrongdoing cited in the annual report included inappropriate spending of state money, falsifying time records, inaccurately reporting personal leave, misusing state vehicles and improperly accepting gifts from people doing business with the state.
Gov. George F. Allen defended the state's interpretation of the exemption.
``The point is to protect the source and also have an ongoing investigation,'' Allen said. ``It's a good program. All you need is one case compromised and you lose your credibility.''
``If the General Assembly wants to change the law and that exemption, they can do that,'' he said. ``But they must be careful they don't harm the whole program.'' ILLUSTRATION: Graphic
HOT-LINE FACTS
The hot line, which is nontraceable and toll-free, received 1,034
calls from Oct. 1, 1993, through Sept. 30, 1994.
Investigations were completed in 980 cases, according to an
annual report from the internal auditor's office.
Of those, 272, or 28 percent, found some form of fraudulent,
wasteful or abusive activity.
by CNB