DEENA WINTER / Lincoln Journal Star | Posted: Monday, October 30, 2006 6:00 pm
Bad judgment? Yes. Bad behavior? Yes. Ethical lapses? Yes. Criminal wrongdoing? No.
That’s the upshot of the report Lincoln Police Chief Tom Casady gave the City Council Monday on the investigation into the city’s troubled purchase of seven new firetrucks.
In a nutshell, police found that former Fire Chief Mike Spadt and Assistant Chief John Huff knew the new firetrucks did not meet the city’s specifications but kept that information from Mayor Coleen Seng when concerns were raised.
And the fire department’s Deputy Chief of Maintenance, Dennis Klein, told police Huff and Spadt leaned on him to keep quiet about the firetrucks’ deficiencies. Huff denied pressuring Klein; Spadt refused to talk to police.
Klein eventually alerted an assistant city attorney, Casady said, setting off the chain of events that led Seng to ask for Spadt’s resignation and put Huff on paid administrative leave after she discovered the trucks weren’t what the city ordered.
“We did not find anything that constituted a crime,” Casady said. “We’re not saying at all that there weren’t some highly inappropriate things going on here. … There are lots of bad things that people do that do not meet the elements of a crime. … That is the situation here.”
Police were charged with investigating whether any crimes were committed in connection with the $2 million firetruck purchase. The highly sought-after bid was won by Lincoln’s EDM Equipment Co., a distributor for Florida manufacturer Emergency One.
Casady said police looked into the possibility of bribery, official misconduct, obstructing government operations or theft by deception but didn’t find enough evidence to support such charges.
The city’s technical investigations unit has pretty much wrapped up its investigation, although the case will remain open indefinitely, and police will pursue any new leads.
There were a few obstacles in the investigation:
n Police were unable to review fire department e-mails sent before March 2, 2005, due to a change in the department’s e-mail system.
n Spadt was the only person who refused to be interviewed by police, asserting his Fifth Amendment rights against self-incrimination.
n Police didn’t have sufficient evidence to get a search warrant to check EDM or Spadt’s banking accounts. However, the FBI, which has independent subpoena power, has taken steps in that direction, police said. Casady said police didn’t ask to search Huff’s accounts.
To illustrate the amount of police resources that have been devoted to the investigation, Casady showed the council a 5-inch thick pile of documents. He said they conducted more than two dozen interviews; gathered 16 statements, most from people represented by lawyers; did a forensic examination of three computers; reviewed 54 documents, 374 telephone calls and thousands of e-mails.
The investigation showed Klein and the city’s purchasing agent, Vince Mejer, “saw this coming” way back during the bidding process, when there were already questions about whether EDM’s bid met the city’s specs.
Police found a huge amount of communication between EDM President Jeff Mellen and Spadt throughout the bidding process and right up until the day after Spadt resigned. Casady said some of the communication “made me blanch,” primarily from Mellen to Spadt.
Casady said hundreds of cell phone calls were placed between Mellen and Spadt in a 29-month period, but police found none between Huff and Mellen.
It was clear that Spadt intervened on EDM’s behalf several times, Casady said. For example, on Jan. 4, Mellen sent Spadt an e-mail alerting him that Mejer wanted to inspect the firetrucks.
Mellen suggested Spadt call him off by telling city Finance Director Don Herz that if Mejer doesn’t “back off immediately,” Spadt would go to the mayor since she took Mejer off the purchase during the bidding process.
The following morning, Spadt sent an e-mail to Herz saying he, Huff and Klein had inspected the trucks and were satisfied with them. “I have enough controversy in my life,” Spadt said in the e-mail. “Dennis is happy; we should all be happy.”
Casady said the e-mails make it clear Spadt, Huff and Klein knew the trucks didn’t meet specs. The discrepancy between the city’s specifications and the “factory build” order placed with E-One became evident at a pre-construction meeting, Casady said.
“Insufficient work was done to make sure that what we specified was exactly what was ordered by the factory,” Casady said.
The first official indication the trucks didn’t meet specs came via a Jan. 31 note faxed to Mejer and then forwarded to the mayor. The following day, Casady said, there were a number of phone calls between Spadt and Mellen.
“There was an attempt by Spadt, and to some extent, Huff, to keep this from becoming a tempest,” Casady said.
But Spadt assured Seng and her staff that the trucks were OK.
Casady said the investigation has shown the city needs to officially adopt more specific rules and regulations governing major purchases. Violating the purchasing division’s guidelines can result in disciplinary action, he said, but not criminal action.
After Councilman Jon Camp suggested the trucks were delivered late because EDM wasn’t paying E-One, lead investigator Steve Niemeyer said E-One eventually got paid for the trucks by collecting the surety bond.
Spadt did not return a call Monday seeking comment, and Huff and Klein’s attorneys declined comment. Mellen said he would comment at a later time.
The city personnel director, Don Taute, is continuing his own investigation into the matter, which will help determine Huff’s fate and whether additional disciplinary action against city employees is warranted.
This doesn’t mean the city’s beef with EDM ends.
“This is a civil matter,” Casady said.
So did the city get cheaper trucks than it ordered? Casady said there’s still major disagreement over that issue, and he doesn’t know. That’s a civil issue the city and EDM will likely be fighting over in court some day.
Reach Deena Winter at 473-2642 or dwinter@journalstar.com.