An Oak Park parking clerk was suspended without pay last week after being charged with pocketing money paid as a fine.
It was the second incident in eight months of theft charged to parking employees.
“Parking clearly has issues,” Village Manager Tom Barwin said in a village statement. “I discovered that very soon after coming to Oak Park last August.” Barwin has been conducting departmental reviews since he started.
Tiffany Brown, 35, of the 500 block of South Ridgeland Avenue, allegedly took money paid to remove an immobilization device from an automobile. The vehicle’s owner contacted the village after the “Denver boot” returned a few days later. Brown was charged after a two-week investigation by Oak Park police.
“To me, it’s just stupid,” said Police Chief Rick Tanksley, because eventually the village will catch an employee pilfering funds.
Tanksley said the village is examining its procedures to “eliminate even the remote possibility” of employee theft.
In October, the village suspended former parking enforcement officer Keith Kotero, 36, of Maywood, pending an investigation. Kotero was later charged with seven counts of felony theft and one count of official misconduct. He was charged with similarly pocketing cash to remove a boot device, but also with clearing the fines from the vehicle owner’s record.
After that incident, the village reorganized oversight of the Parking Division, which is under the Finance and Police departments. The Police Department oversees parking enforcement, while Finance handles the accounting for fines paid.
“Our efforts also include improving our hiring procedures to better screen applicants as well as provide more rigorous training,” Barwin said.
In making the administrative change, the village limited the number of people who can wipe out tickets from records, which is why Brown wasn’t able to cover her tracks, Tanksley said.
There was no connection between the two incidents, Tanksley added.
“The only positive side to this issue is that it should send a loud and clear message-we investigate wrongdoing and, when it is found to have occurred, we respond swiftly and appropriately,” Barwin said.
CONTACT: dcarter@wjinc.com