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^«Yt^ OFFICE OF INSPECTOR GENERAL
MEMORANDUM December 8,2014 To: County Council
From: Edward L. Blansitt, III Inspector General
Subject: Temporary Employee Rachel Ondrik I regret that my having hired a temporary employee, Rachel Ondrik, to provide professional services for the Montgomery County Office of Inspector General (MC OIG) has drawn negative attention from the press, as evidenced by the article in the Saturday, December 6 Washington Post, and resultant criticism from some readers. My motivation in hiring every member of my
staff, including Ms. Ondrik, is that of employing the best individuals available to us to conduct the most thorough and professional reviews consistent with our mission. I also want to make you aware of a few important points that were unclear from the Post article. First and foremost, the article implies that Ms. Ondrik investigates fraud in the same manner as would be investigated by a law enforcement entity. The MC OIG is not a law enforcement entity and we do not employ law enforcement officers. This was extremely important in my consideration of Ms. Ondrik's application because, in a criminal case, the prosecution would potentially be required to disclose a testifying investigator's
criminal history to the defense and to the jury. That would potentially disqualify an individual with a criminal history from being a criminal investigator. No one in the MC OIG conducts criminal investigations, and neither Ms. Ondrik nor any other member of the MC OIG staff would be expected to appear in court to testify against an individual or firm in a criminal case. Further, no one in the MC OIG has access to the private information of County employees or of any individuals or of private firms.
Although part of the MC OIG mission is to prevent and detect fraud, that objective is accomplished primarily through our analysis of internal (management) controls. The focus is on identifying what policies and procedures are in place, how they are intended to function, and whether they are being implemented correctly and are effective. If they do not function effectively, we determine why the controls fail and what corrective measures need to be implemented. In the course of such work, individuals may be interviewed to understand how controls function.
This is far different from the work performed by a federal Office of Inspector General investigator. If fraud is detected in the course of our work, we try to determine how it occurred,
5 IMonroe Street, Suite 802 • Rockville, Maryland 20850 • 240-777-8240, 240-777-8254 FAX email: [email protected]
but that information would be turned over to a law enforcement agency. The MC OIG would not investigate an individual in a criminal matter. Ms. Ondrik has an impressive resume that includes a Master's degree from the University of Delaware, a Bachelor's degree from Lehigh, and over 11 years as an investigator at the Department of Commerce Office of Inspector General (DOC OIG), where she received a number of honorary awards and was, for a number of years, considered one of that office's best agents. I was not her direct supervisor during my years at the DOC OIG, but was well aware of her strong ability to gather evidence, to interview people, and of her excellent writing skills. All of these are strengths that are essential to the MC OIG. Ms. Ondrik is a temporary employee who works in a "pooled" position under which more than two individuals share a single position and work on an "as needed" basis. Under that position, through the County Office of Human Resources (OHR) merit selection process (issuing an announcement, getting applicants referred from OHR, having the a panel interviewed candidates, and calling references prior to asking OHR to make an offer of employment), we have employed five different individuals, four of whom were temporary. Between March and October 2013, in addition to Ms. Ondrik, we recmited Thomas Chase, a retired police officer from another Maryland county; John Poliks, who retired from the Maryland State Prosecutor's Office; and Carin Wyche, a former federal investigator with experience at several agencies. Messrs. Chase and Poliks have since resigned to accept full-time positions. The fifth employee, Gary Weishaar, has been a term employee in this OIG since before I was appointed Inspector General. The OIG web site includes biographical information for each of the term employees, but not for the temporary employees.
In 2012, the DOC OIG brought to the Department of Justice allegations related to travel that occurred in 2009. In March 2013, Ms. Ondrik signed a plea agreement to a misdemeanor charge regarding travel to avoid the expense and embarrassment of trial. In September 2013, a U.S. District Court Judge vacated the original plea. Ultimately, the Assistant U.S. Attorney did not pursue most travel charges but did pursue a misdemeanor charge related to time and location of hours worked.
Ms. Ondrik began her temporary position with this office in October 2013, after the original plea was vacated. When I interviewed her I considered that new charges might be filed, but ultimately decided to proceed with her employment because of my understanding of her skills, and the value I thought she would add to the office. My confidence in Ms. Ondrik was well founded as she has made significant contributions to the office during her tenure with us. She was the lead writer of three reports that have been publicly issued.
The work of the MC OIG is a team effort by the entire staff. Every member of the staff is closely supervised, and I carefully examine all work developed by the staff. Although she has been a strong performer and a strong contributor to our small team, what matters most is
ensuring the integrity of the MC OIG. Accordingly, I will ask the County Attorney whether he concurs with my analysis of the propriety of employing Ms. Ondrik to perform the work of this office and will rely on his advice.
^«Yt^ OFFICE OF INSPECTOR GENERAL
MEMORANDUM December 8,2014 To: County Council
From: Edward L. Blansitt, III Inspector General
Subject: Temporary Employee Rachel Ondrik I regret that my having hired a temporary employee, Rachel Ondrik, to provide professional services for the Montgomery County Office of Inspector General (MC OIG) has drawn negative attention from the press, as evidenced by the article in the Saturday, December 6 Washington Post, and resultant criticism from some readers. My motivation in hiring every member of my
staff, including Ms. Ondrik, is that of employing the best individuals available to us to conduct the most thorough and professional reviews consistent with our mission. I also want to make you aware of a few important points that were unclear from the Post article. First and foremost, the article implies that Ms. Ondrik investigates fraud in the same manner as would be investigated by a law enforcement entity. The MC OIG is not a law enforcement entity and we do not employ law enforcement officers. This was extremely important in my consideration of Ms. Ondrik's application because, in a criminal case, the prosecution would potentially be required to disclose a testifying investigator's
criminal history to the defense and to the jury. That would potentially disqualify an individual with a criminal history from being a criminal investigator. No one in the MC OIG conducts criminal investigations, and neither Ms. Ondrik nor any other member of the MC OIG staff would be expected to appear in court to testify against an individual or firm in a criminal case. Further, no one in the MC OIG has access to the private information of County employees or of any individuals or of private firms.
Although part of the MC OIG mission is to prevent and detect fraud, that objective is accomplished primarily through our analysis of internal (management) controls. The focus is on identifying what policies and procedures are in place, how they are intended to function, and whether they are being implemented correctly and are effective. If they do not function effectively, we determine why the controls fail and what corrective measures need to be implemented. In the course of such work, individuals may be interviewed to understand how controls function.
This is far different from the work performed by a federal Office of Inspector General investigator. If fraud is detected in the course of our work, we try to determine how it occurred,
5 IMonroe Street, Suite 802 • Rockville, Maryland 20850 • 240-777-8240, 240-777-8254 FAX email: [email protected]
but that information would be turned over to a law enforcement agency. The MC OIG would not investigate an individual in a criminal matter. Ms. Ondrik has an impressive resume that includes a Master's degree from the University of Delaware, a Bachelor's degree from Lehigh, and over 11 years as an investigator at the Department of Commerce Office of Inspector General (DOC OIG), where she received a number of honorary awards and was, for a number of years, considered one of that office's best agents. I was not her direct supervisor during my years at the DOC OIG, but was well aware of her strong ability to gather evidence, to interview people, and of her excellent writing skills. All of these are strengths that are essential to the MC OIG. Ms. Ondrik is a temporary employee who works in a "pooled" position under which more than two individuals share a single position and work on an "as needed" basis. Under that position, through the County Office of Human Resources (OHR) merit selection process (issuing an announcement, getting applicants referred from OHR, having the a panel interviewed candidates, and calling references prior to asking OHR to make an offer of employment), we have employed five different individuals, four of whom were temporary. Between March and October 2013, in addition to Ms. Ondrik, we recmited Thomas Chase, a retired police officer from another Maryland county; John Poliks, who retired from the Maryland State Prosecutor's Office; and Carin Wyche, a former federal investigator with experience at several agencies. Messrs. Chase and Poliks have since resigned to accept full-time positions. The fifth employee, Gary Weishaar, has been a term employee in this OIG since before I was appointed Inspector General. The OIG web site includes biographical information for each of the term employees, but not for the temporary employees.
In 2012, the DOC OIG brought to the Department of Justice allegations related to travel that occurred in 2009. In March 2013, Ms. Ondrik signed a plea agreement to a misdemeanor charge regarding travel to avoid the expense and embarrassment of trial. In September 2013, a U.S. District Court Judge vacated the original plea. Ultimately, the Assistant U.S. Attorney did not pursue most travel charges but did pursue a misdemeanor charge related to time and location of hours worked.
Ms. Ondrik began her temporary position with this office in October 2013, after the original plea was vacated. When I interviewed her I considered that new charges might be filed, but ultimately decided to proceed with her employment because of my understanding of her skills, and the value I thought she would add to the office. My confidence in Ms. Ondrik was well founded as she has made significant contributions to the office during her tenure with us. She was the lead writer of three reports that have been publicly issued.
The work of the MC OIG is a team effort by the entire staff. Every member of the staff is closely supervised, and I carefully examine all work developed by the staff. Although she has been a strong performer and a strong contributor to our small team, what matters most is
ensuring the integrity of the MC OIG. Accordingly, I will ask the County Attorney whether he concurs with my analysis of the propriety of employing Ms. Ondrik to perform the work of this office and will rely on his advice.
