Mineola, NY--Nassau County Executive Thomas R. Suozzi announced today that two County employees have been fired as the result of investigations conducted by Commissioner of Investigations Bonnie Garone. Following Commissioner Garone's investigation, one of those employees has also been arrested by the Nassau County District Attorney's office for bribery in the third degree, a class D felony, and official misconduct, a misdemeanor. The second employee was terminated for failing to work hours for which he was paid and for false reporting.

The investigations conducted by Commissioner Garone are part of County Executive Suozzi's commitment to eliminate waste, fraud and abuse in County government. His Administration has pledged to root out dishonesty at all layers of government.

"This should send a clear message to all those employees, who abuse their position, that dishonesty will not be tolerated. I also want to thank all those employees who go to work every day, work hard, and follow all the rules," County Executive Suozzi said. "Abuse of the public trust will not be tolerated at any level and I thank the citizens of the County and the diligent and honest County employees for alerting us to the abuses in these cases. I applaud the Commissioner of Investigations for her efforts, and thank the District Attorney for his full cooperation in ensuring that abuses that rise to the level of criminality will be punished to the fullest extent the law permits."

The fired employees are Raymond Petite-Frere, a former clerk in the Traffic and Parking Violations Agency ("TPVA") and Edward Imberman, a former weights and measures inspector in the Office of Consumer Affairs.

After a tip from another County employee, the Commissioner of Investigations discovered that Petite-Frere had improperly made changes to TPVA's computer records to reduce fines and surcharges imposed on a motorist. As a result of Commissioner Garone's investigation, the matter was immediately referred to the District Attorney's office, which discovered evidence that Petite-Frere had sought a bribe from the motorist to illicitly access the TPVA system, and thus filed criminal charges against him.

Regarding the second matter, after a call from a taxpayer to the County's Constituent Affairs office, who stated he was "outraged that his taxes go to pay for someone like this" who is "robbing the county of services." Imberman was found to have failed to work during hours he claimed to be working. Video surveillance confirmed these allegations. The allegations have also been referred to the District Attorney's office, and their investigation is pending.

Petite-Frere's conduct was noticed by an alert TPVA employee, who immediately notified a supervisor. Imberman's actions were reported to the County Executive's office by a concerned citizen. Both investigations have resulted in various reforms at each agency to ensure the integrity of the agencies' work and the honesty of their employees.