CLEVELAND — Court records show the man named as a suspect in the theft of more than $672,000 from the City of Cleveland’s TV department was fighting kidnapping and rape charges when investigators said he was first named on invoices and paid for work that there was no record of him doing.
RELATED: Cleveland Police investigating missing $672,000 from TV20
It’s part of a scheme that went on for more than 14 years, according to police.
In April, the city’s human resources director told police the man shared a home address with TV20’s office manager, who was in charge of scheduling freelance journalists.
According to personnel records obtained by News 5 Investigators, the office manager listed the man as her son and beneficiary on her life insurance policy.
While both the woman and man are listed as suspects in the police report, we are not naming the pair since criminal charges have not been filed.
Councilman Michael Polensek said the entire situation left him shaking his head.
“No, I don’t think it’s a simple mistake,” said Polensek. “I call that complicit. I have some other words to describe it, but I won’t because this is an ongoing investigation.”
Personnel records showed the woman resigned the day after police were contacted about the theft and possible forging of signatures on invoices.
According to the police report, some of those invoices dated back to September 2011.
Court records show that it was one month after the woman’s son was indicted on kidnapping and rape charges.
That case was later pleaded down to felony abduction.
But the police report said payments in the man’s name kept coming for more than a decade.
Polensek is hopeful Mayor Justin Bibb’s administration gets to the bottom of what he calls a breakdown in supervision and hopes those involved are held accountable and prosecuted.
“We have people that come to work every day in the city, come in and work their fannies off, I can tell you that for a fact,” said Polensek. “Then we have someone on the payroll that’s not working, but yet getting paid? What message does that send?”
Both the city and state auditors’ offices said the investigation into what happened continues.
