Patterson Pleads Not Guilty To Larceny, Conflict of Interest
Former Parks and Recreation director is accused of padding the time cards of employees with phantom hours and using the extra cash to pay workers not employed by the department, including his son.
Two years after an investigation was launched which led to the shutdown of the Tewksbury Parks and Recreation Department, former director Roy Patterson was in court Thursday to answer allegations that he engaged in a pattern of fiscal mismanagement.
Specifically, Patterson is charged with larceny under $250 and ethics violations under the State's Conflict of Interest laws. He pled not guilty to both charges and was released on personal recognizance by Lowell District Court Judge Thomas Brennan. He is scheduled to be back in court on Nov. 13 for pre-trial conferencing.
Prosecutors allege Patterson padded the time cards of department employees with extra hours. Those employees were paid their normal wages but the department was allocated cash based on the hours submitted. So Patterson would up with extra cash that he allegedly used to pay workers not legally employed by the department, including his son Stephen.
In a press release, Middlesex County District Attorney said this type of conduct by a town department head is a major violation of public trust.
"This defendant violated his position of public trust and authority within the department by adding hours that were not worked to employees' paychecks, to fraudulently and intentionally pay other employees who he knew were not authorized to work at the department," said Leone.
Lauren Bibo-Morris, the department's former business manager, was arraigned last week on charges she embezzled more than $50,000 over the course of two years. Prosecutors allege she stole the money to fund a prescription drug habit.
According to court records, it was Patterson who alerted Town Manager Richard Montuori to irregularities in the deposits being made by Bibo-Morris.
The investigation revealed that Morris, who handled payments for recreational services and summer youth programs, allegedly stole cash payments made by Tewksbury families for their children’s program registration. From May 1 to Sept. 15, 2010, there were no cash deposits into the recreation department’s accounts despite cash payments from parents.
It is also alleged that Morris stole additional cash from families who made cash payments for daily lunches, field trips, and other fees associated with the summer recreation programs. According to investigators, Morris allegedly set up a payroll account in the name of a family member, and collected and cashed 11 paychecks without the family member having any knowledge or ever working for the town.
Bibo-Morris is due back in court on Nov. 6 for pre-trial conferencing.
Joe Bill
2:34 pm on Friday, September 21, 2012
These two rocket scientists remind of the great quote from Animal House: "fat, drunk, and stupid is no way to go through life." I'm not sure if either of these idiots drank but we know Morris was a pill popper. At very least they resemble 2 out of three criteria in the quote.
derf
5:45 pm on Friday, September 21, 2012
He only get charged with theft under $250.?????? Maybe, at most, a slap on the wrist!!! Does anyone watch the money in this town? There certainly had to be a lot of people that new what was going on and said nothing, shame on all of you.
Steevo
1:03 am on Saturday, September 22, 2012
Maybe i don't understand all the facts, I'm at a loss why people want his head? I'm wondering if it's the way Roy looks? Or, a sense of lost justice in this country and taking it out here with a vengeance? Under $250 could mean an evening's meal for himself, or cash for someon in need? I read he also contributed money against policy from fund-raising donations on his own time, does that show he's a guy who wanted to screw the place? And padding employees' time cards to help others unemployed I won't argue is going against policy but the intention was to help those who were in need by actually having them work for pay. Why do people want this man's life destroyed?
Jake P
8:14 pm on Friday, September 21, 2012
Apparently he didn't listen to his LIFELONG best friend and confidant Wilfred Daley who took over $400,000 from the coffers of Tewksbury youth baseball. Crime does not pay Fred would tell Roy but Roy figured he was a wee bit smarter than Fred.The cheeseburger diet costs a pretty penny when you have to actually pay for it. Go for the pension no matter what it costs the town in lawyer fees.
Mike
9:59 pm on Friday, September 21, 2012
That scumbag better not get his pension
Bill Gilman
11:17 pm on Friday, September 21, 2012
Actually Mike he already is ... check out our story .... http://tewksbury.patch.com/articles/is-accused-former-recreation-director-collecting-his-pension
DCN
3:12 pm on Saturday, September 22, 2012
I certainly am one for helping out someone in need if I can. But...to take other people's money...our personal and the town's...and putting it in anyone's pocket that you want is totally unacceptable. As for him contributing money on his own time...that's a great cover if I ever saw one. I have had dealing with him myself while my child was in the summer program...I certainly didn't get the warm and fuzzy feeling from him that an honest person would impress upon. I found him to be pretty rushed, nervous and 1/2 attentive to whatever was being said. I think he pretended pretty darn good!
Douglas W. Sears
7:45 am on Saturday, September 22, 2012
Barry Finegold has recently placed his signs all over JDS' properties. Go figure?
will T
11:26 am on Saturday, September 22, 2012
What a stupid thing to bring up, you not even running against him.Guess you couldn't come up with anything to support your reason for running against Jim M .
denise
2:04 pm on Saturday, September 22, 2012
ya...random 'comment'...strange
southie
3:48 pm on Saturday, September 22, 2012
Why don't you have your wife go remove them you guys got away with it before.
Ken H
2:55 pm on Monday, September 24, 2012
Wrong forum Doug ... or was that to much for you to "figure" out . No wonder why you will never be anything more than a small town selectman.
Rusty
9:09 am on Saturday, September 22, 2012
Can you say IRS investigation and audits for these two loosers.
derf
10:20 am on Saturday, September 22, 2012
This is Massachusetts, of course he'll probably receive his pension. Steevo: What he did wasn't just againt "policy" I would think it was against the law, he didn't just give someone on a rare occasion a free burger. Jake P is right, after what went on with the youth baseball fiasco everyone should of been more allert of what can happen if you let people decide they can do what they want with to towns money. I thought the Teen Center was set up to help the kids in town, not to be Mr. Patterson's slush fund to help his family and friends.
Mary
10:23 am on Saturday, September 22, 2012
They both stole, so do their time and pay back what was taken. This town is in enough trouble with big loans, so maybe we can put some of the recovered money into paying the loans down. As far as Roy's pension, I say it should be taken away from him. This is an ethics issue.
Bill Gilman
1:25 pm on Saturday, September 22, 2012
A comment has been removed from this stream for violating our terms of service. C'mon guys. You know you can't make criminal accusations against people who havent been charged with anything,
Patch Fan
1:49 pm on Sunday, September 23, 2012
What I am struggling to figure out is since when is tampering with other peoples paycheck not a federal crime? You ask some of you employees to lie about the hours they actually worked.. Yet they needed to pay federal and state taxes against that money...Not to Mention LYING to IRS regarding their comet tax. Then you handed over the paded hours (CASH) of pay to your boss so he could give CASH to his son without paying any taxes.....and your telling me he didn't break any Federal or State laws and he is only being charged with larceny under $250 and ethics violations under the State's Conflict of Interest laws SOMETHING IS VERY WRONG WITH THIS WHOLE PICTURE!!!
Bill Gilman
2:56 pm on Sunday, September 23, 2012
Patch Fan, i dont think that's what happened. I think it's been misrepresented in the media somewhat. I dont think it impacted legal workers checks. What I do think happened was that the outlay for payroll reported in the Budget was off. In other words, I THINK he is alleged to have claimed to have paid his people X when it was actually X minus whatever he paid to the illegal workers.
Again, at least that is my impression.
I'm starting to understand why the investigation took two years. It sounds like a forensic accountant's nightmare.
Karyn
11:30 pm on Sunday, September 23, 2012
Isn't this just ducky.......
Excerpt from 'The Column' in Sunday's Lowell Sun:
MOST PEOPLE are lucky to have one attorney with them in court.
Former Tewksbury Recreation Director Roy Patterson had two.
Patterson was in Lowell District Court last week pleading not guilty to larceny under $250 and violation of the conflict-of-interest law for the mismanagement and mishandling of funds at the recreation center.
Standing up with Patterson before the judge was attorney Nicholas J. DiMauro, but sitting with Patterson while he waited for his arraignment was well-know Tewksbury attorney Richard O'Neill, a former Tewksbury School Committee and Special Act Charter Committee member.
http://www.lowellsun.com/local/ci_21612303/column-post-debate-brown-sets-off-brew-haha
Ken H
11:08 am on Monday, September 24, 2012
Rick has ben working both sides of the fence for years , conflict of interest is for other people, amazed he didn't have the other half of the " Rick and Dick Show " with him.
Karyn
1:15 pm on Monday, September 24, 2012
I remember that show well.
roys boys
1:39 pm on Tuesday, October 30, 2012
El Swede
joe bill
3:17 pm on Wednesday, October 31, 2012
I heard he also ate the haunted house . Whammy