Cronyism, Nepotism and Boy Toys in the Astorino Administration

Below is a statement from the Concerned Employees of DSS. As Independent Democrats, its our duty to Demand the Fraud of our people be Stopped! Cronyism, Nepotism and Boy Toys in the Astorino Administration

Dear concerned citizens of Westchester County, Elected Officials and the Press: We are writing this letter as both a fellow concerned citizens of Westchester County and concerned public servants who work for the Westchester County Department of Social Services. We have been loyal and hardworking employees for over twenty years and feel we can no longer remain silent about what is happening in this department and throughout the County. We take no pleasure in airing the County’s dirty laundry and wish that this did not have to be done. We have taken a lot time and put a lot of thought into naming specific names, titles and other information but feel that all of this information is public knowledge and can be found through internet searches and Freedom of Information requests. Just a quick aside regarding civil service law, pay grades and job titles, to become a County employee a regular person would take a test and if you passed high enough and met the job requirements you would be hired and have to pass a yearlong probation period to then become permanent. The vast majority of individuals mentioned here have not followed this procedure. It also holds true that for a current employee to get a promotion the same procedure must be followed. Next lets discuss the basics of pay and pay grades. County employees are paid on a sale using grades from one to twenty, the higher the grade the higher the pay.  The same holds true for job responsibilities the higher the number the greater both pay and responsibility. All this information is open for public view by going to the Westchester County Department of Human Resources whose offices are located in the main county office building in White Plains. We are not sure where to start but feel that it is important to say up front we had a strong feeling of optimism and excitement when this new administration came to power and was looking forward to great change. While the prior administration was accused of patronage and cronyism what this new administration is currently doing pales in comparison. All that you read below is being done while the current county executive deceives the citizens of Westchester regarding his waste cutting and tax cutting. We do not want this letter to be considered an attack on anyone person but all of these troubles and problems can all be traced back to one person and one political party. At DSS these problems begin at the top and go right through the whole department. The top of the pyramid all begins with a Rob Asorino appointee Phil Gille the first deputy commissioner and as anybody in DSS can tell you the real decision maker nothing at DSS from as small as painting an office to as big as promoting Directors happens without his approval. Mr. Gille holds court from his numerous offices including ones in White Plains, Mt. Vernon and Yonkers. Every lead manager, district director and associate or assistant commissioner reports to him and he reports to the commissioner. We don’t find this to be a workable system it is as if all the information and decisions are done by the vice president and the president is just there for show. Mr. Gille has surrounded himself with a staff of appointed employees who loyal to both him and the Republican Party. These loyalties can be show by the large number of high ranking Republican Party members who are now employed at DSS. These appointments and promotions have caused long time employees to lose faith in civil service system. Many long time employees have waited years and passed civil service tests to be promoted just to see some newly hired individual be promoted without any explanation. A perfect example of this in one Gille appointee Gerard Gershonowitz who has been with the county for less than three years, never taken any civil service exams has no experience regarding any aspect of Social Services but still has a supervisory position for which he is totally unqualified. His only qualification seems to be that he is a member of the Log Cabin Republican’s. Our next example of patronage and cronyism is group of employees who were appointed by Mr. Gille to the position of Eligibility Clerk and upon have to take the civil service exam were unable to pass it. These employees include Rosemary Jarosz, Kelly Murray and Tracey Traverson. All of these employees upon failing the exam should have lost their jobs but due to their close ties to the republican party and Phil Gille remain employed as he hastily made up a new unheard of and never before used title of Community Outreach Worker to provide them with continued employment. Long time DSS employees have never heard of this title and do not know what place it has in DSS. To switch gears let's discuss the mass promotions that were announced in September of 2013. During which over thirteen people were promoted just to allow for certain individuals to remain in their jobs, those individuals being Leonard Townes and Stacey Reynolds. Some of the most egregious promotions are for individuals who are doing the same job but are getting higher pay. One example is Mark Szuba currently a manager three who currently is doing the exact same job at higher pay. Not only is he doing the same job but he is actually doing less as the one supervisor who did report to him was promoted. The next example is Nancy Sigler a recently promoted manager two who is doing the same job as a recently retired manager one. All the while over twenty demoted employees await reinstatement to their old jobs where they are badly needed. As a result of these mass promotions DSS has become a top heavy organization. The next individual whose appointment, job description and title are all in question is Joseph Kenner. For those who are interested Mr. Kenner a long time consultant to Mr. Astorino and is now employed as deputy commissioner at DSS. This position seems to all to be complete waste of salary as he no knowledge of any of the workings of DSS or any of its programs and the department has no need for more top level staff. An example of the bloated upper management can be seen at the Yonkers district office where there is one director, one manger two and two manager ones to lead five units each of which have a supervisor and some have assistant supervisors. This is example where supervisory staff actually out number front line staff. Another part of DSS that is unnecessarily top heavy is the homeless area. This is the division of DSS that deals with the homeless population of Westchester and strives to find them permanent housing. Currently it is staffed with a Director Stacey Reynolds, two mangers Jose Mathew and Patricia Quattrochi, a program administrator Christopher Wilkens, a program specialist Miguel Velazquez, two supervisors Alex Joga and Nathan Treadwell and finally an assistant supervisor and it is rumored they are looking for two more program specialists. All of these individuals are over an area that consists of two units and under twelve front line workers. We are not MBA's or management specialists but think this seems a bit excessive to even a layman. The next interesting addition to the DSS family is Marie Claudel, where Marie came from and what she does is anybody's guess. What is known is that as a Community Outreach Worker which is a lower job at DSS but Mrs. Claudel has her own office and makes her own hours. When questioned about these actions her answer is to ask Phil, the aforementioned Phil Gille. The most interesting fact about Marie is who she is married too. She is the wife Guy Parisi and he is Rob Astorino's lawyer. Art Sullivan is another political appointee who has never taken a test or followed any civil service rules to get to the position he has achieved. Again as a long time employee is is dejecting to see somebody in an advanced position who has no qualifications or ability at his job. In fact his actions are detrimental to the department. Mr. Sullivan is in charge of all DSS computers and systems and his lack of experience in this area is painfully obvious to those who have to deal with him. He is doing so poorly at his job the department has had to add another employee to assist him. Now here is a list of Gille appointees that again have not taken any civil services tests to arrive at the postions that they hold. This group includes Brian Furlong, Nick Gonzalez, Morgan Abdelnour, Mathew McCarrick, Steve Murray, Michael Recca, Anthony Ferriello and Gerard Longarzo. All of these appointees have three things in common. First they a male, second they are white and third they are all under the age of thirty. All the young boys hired by Phil Gille are called his "Boy Toys". Literally they do nothing but take up space in our department, and steal contract money doled out by the NYS and the Feds.  Finally let us look at what use to be called the Bureau of Case Review and is now called the Office of Program Integrity. This is another area that is grossly over staffed with management and special appointees. While front line work cannot be completed due to a lack of field workers the management side keeps growing. Currently there is one manager two Paul Wozarick, a manager one Eugene Chilini, and rumor has it that two new special positions are being created. One is budget specialist for Edward Fagan another person brand new to DSS with little or no knowledge of any programs but a close associate of Phil Gille and the other is the above mentioned Nick Gonzalez whose credentials and exact position are yet to be determined. This letter could continue but time is short and the longer this is allowed to continue the stronger the cancer that is inside DSS grows. Long time employees are retiring early to escape the problems that this new administration has caused. Absenteeism and low moral have become major problems at the department. Most employees took this job to help people who need help but now find themselves fighting for their own survival and having to try to do more with less. We wish we could conclude this letter on a positive note but it our belief that until these internal problems are corrected and those responsible are removed there is no solution. Sincerely, Concerned Employees of DSS