Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility

West Bank Town Becomes ‘Big Prison’ as Israel Fences It In

1 day ago

Trump Says He’s Willing to Let Migrant Farm Laborers Stay in US

1 day ago

US Electric Vehicle Tax Breaks Will Expire on Sept. 30

2 days ago

Eyeing Arctic Dominance, Trump Bill Earmarks $8.6 Billion for US Coast Guard Icebreakers

2 days ago

Trump’s Sweeping Tax-Cut and Spending Bill Wins Congressional Approval

2 days ago

Americans Celebrate Their Independence With Record-Breaking Travel Numbers

2 days ago

US Supreme Court to Decide Legality of Transgender School Sports Bans

2 days ago

Nvidia Set to Become the World’s Most Valuable Company in History

2 days ago

Poll: 41% in US ‘Extremely Proud’ to Be American, Near Historic Low

2 days ago
State Auditor Nabs Fresno State Groundskeepers for $111,000
Bill McEwen updated website photo 2024
By Bill McEwen, News Director
Published 7 years ago on
July 24, 2018

Share

You’d think by now that California state employees who sleep on the job, leave their posts early or buy unauthorized stuff would realize that State Auditor Elaine M. Howle and her staff are watching.

Portrait of Elaine Howle
“Two employees at California State University, Fresno failed to perform their work duties for thousands of hours during a period of at least five years. From 2013 through 2017, these two employees failed to account for more than 5,100 hours by taking extended breaks and leaving campus without permission. This misuse of state time cost the State more than $111,000 in salary paid for work not performed.”
— State Auditor Elaine M. Howle
But state employees keep thinking they can fleece taxpayers. And they keep getting caught.
Howle issued her office’s latest “Investigations of Improper Activities by State Agencies and Employees report” July 24 and heading the list were two Fresno State employees.
“For example, two employees at California State University, Fresno failed to perform their work duties for thousands of hours during a period of at least five years. From 2013 through 2017, these two employees failed to account for more than 5,100 hours by taking extended breaks and leaving campus without permission,” Howle wrote in a letter to Gov. Jerry Brown and other state leaders. “This misuse of state time cost the State more than $111,000 in salary paid for work not performed. In addition, the employees’ managers failed to ensure that these two employees performed their work.”
Deeper in the report, the alleged offenders are identified by the auditor’s office as “two employees (who) have worked at Fresno State for more than 20 years as groundskeepers in the facilities operations department and are responsible primarily for operating small tractors, backhoes, and mowers.”
 

Fresno State Aided Probe

The report states that Fresno State assisted in the investigation and turned up a third employee — who is related to one of the offending groundskeepers — cruising on the taxpayer’s dime.
How did things turn out?
“In March 2018, Fresno State reported that since January 2018, it has required Employees A and B to report to a lead employee who will ensure that they perform their duties and account for their time. It also informed us that it issued 12-week unpaid suspensions to both Employees A and B. In addition, it stated that it investigated Employee B’s relative for time and attendance abuse and also issued a 12-week suspension to the relative after the investigation substantiated the time abuse. In May 2018, Fresno State stated that it was exploring its legal options for recovering funds paid to the employees for time they did not work.”

Auditor’s Analysis of Surveillance Records of Two Fresno State Employees

Screen capture of state auditor probe into Fresno State groundskeepers

DMV Employee Sleeps on the Job

And then there was a key data operator at the Department of Motor Vehicles.
No kidding, she literally slept on the job — possibly because of a suspected medical condition.
States the report: “(She) failed to perform her essential duties over a period of nearly four years because she slept at her desk for extended periods of time during work hours. We estimated that from February 2014 through December 2017, the employee misused more than 2,200 hours of work time as a result of sleeping on the job, costing the State more than $40,000.”

Jim Patterson
“DMV employees are likely just as frustrated as I am. I’ve had calls from several of them who are begging for accountability and change at the DMV. I expect the audit I have requested due to the exploding wait times will uncover major systemic issues that have frustrated both the customers and the employees. I hope it can be a catalyst for real change.— Assemblyman Jim Patterson (R-Fresno)
This item quickly caught the attention of Fresno Assemblyman Jim Patterson (R-Fresno). He is on a crusade to clean up the DMV.
“While the Auditor’s report appears to show this employee may have had a legitimate medical problem, this clearly shows there are serious issues with the management of the DMV,” Patterson said. “A supervisor allowing an employee to sleep on the job for nearly four years is an example.”
“DMV employees are likely just as frustrated as I am. I’ve had calls from several of them who are begging for accountability and change at the DMV. I expect the audit I have requested due to the exploding wait times will uncover major systemic issues that have frustrated both the customers and the employees. I hope it can be a catalyst for real change.”

No Discipline For DMV Employee

The $40,000 lost by taxpayers won’t be recovered.
In a nutshell, the employee wasn’t disciplined because her supervisors failed to properly manage her.
From the audit: “the DMV stated that in March 2018 — after the completion of this investigation — it issued to the employee a corrective memorandum that contains the necessary language that will allow it to issue an adverse action to her if she does not correct her behavior.”
You can read more of the investigative highlights at this link.
 

DON'T MISS

What Are Fresno Real Estate Experts Predicting for 2025 and Beyond?

DON'T MISS

First California EV Mandates Hit Automakers This Year. Most Are Not Even Close

DON'T MISS

How Trump’s ‘Big, Beautiful Bill’ Will Make China Great Again

DON'T MISS

What’s Caitlin Clark Worth to the WNBA? A Lot More Than Her $78,066 Salary.

DON'T MISS

Trump to Sign Tax-Cut and Spending Bill in July 4 Ceremony

DON'T MISS

Madre Fire Spurs Evacuations Across 3 Counties, Grows to More Than 70,000 Acres

DON'T MISS

Clovis, Sanger, Madera, and Bass Lake Will Light the Sky With Fireworks Shows Tonight

DON'T MISS

Oil Dips Ahead of Expected OPEC+ Output Increase

DON'T MISS

613 Killed at Gaza Aid Distribution Sites, Near Humanitarian Covoys, Says UN

DON'T MISS

Fresno County Authorities Investigating Suspicious Death of Transient Man

DON'T MISS

West Bank Town Becomes ‘Big Prison’ as Israel Fences It In

DON'T MISS

Israeli Military Kills 20 in Gaza as Trump Awaits Hamas Reply to Truce Proposal

UP NEXT

Clovis, Sanger, Madera, and Bass Lake Will Light the Sky With Fireworks Shows Tonight

UP NEXT

Valley Crime Stoppers’ Most Wanted Person of the Day: Rachelle Maria Blanco

UP NEXT

Fresno Police to Conduct DUI Checkpoint on Fourth of July, Boost Holiday Patrols

UP NEXT

Fresno Crash Involving Unlicensed Teen Driver Sends Woman to Hospital

UP NEXT

Madre Fire Burns More Than 52,000 Acres in San Luis Obispo County

UP NEXT

RIP John Harris: Fresno County Rancher, Racehorse Breeder Was a Visionary Leader Who Leaves a ‘Profound Legacy’

UP NEXT

Valadao, Costa Spar on What Passage of Trump’s Bill Means for Medicaid Recipients

UP NEXT

Kaweah Health Names Its New Chief Nurse. She’s From Texas

UP NEXT

Clovis Police Say At-Risk Missing Woman Found Dead in Mariposa County

UP NEXT

Fresno Police Recover Some of the $40,000 in Fireworks Stolen From Bullard High Team

Bill McEwen,
News Director
Bill McEwen is news director and columnist for GV Wire. He joined GV Wire in August 2017 after 37 years at The Fresno Bee. With The Bee, he served as Opinion Editor, City Hall reporter, Metro columnist, sports columnist and sports editor through the years. His work has been frequently honored by the California Newspapers Publishers Association, including authoring first-place editorials in 2015 and 2016. Bill and his wife, Karen, are proud parents of two adult sons, and they have two grandsons. You can contact Bill at 559-492-4031 or at Send an Email

Madre Fire Spurs Evacuations Across 3 Counties, Grows to More Than 70,000 Acres

1 day ago

Clovis, Sanger, Madera, and Bass Lake Will Light the Sky With Fireworks Shows Tonight

1 day ago

Oil Dips Ahead of Expected OPEC+ Output Increase

1 day ago

613 Killed at Gaza Aid Distribution Sites, Near Humanitarian Covoys, Says UN

1 day ago

Fresno County Authorities Investigating Suspicious Death of Transient Man

1 day ago

West Bank Town Becomes ‘Big Prison’ as Israel Fences It In

1 day ago

Israeli Military Kills 20 in Gaza as Trump Awaits Hamas Reply to Truce Proposal

1 day ago

Valley Crime Stoppers’ Most Wanted Person of the Day: Rachelle Maria Blanco

1 day ago

Russia Pounds Kyiv With Largest Drone Attack, Hours After Trump-Putin Call

1 day ago

Boxer Chavez Jr Expected to Be Deported to Mexico to Serve Sentence, Mexican President Says

1 day ago

How Trump’s ‘Big, Beautiful Bill’ Will Make China Great Again

Can you hear it — that loud roar coming from the East? It’s the sound of 1.4 billion Chinese laughing at us. Thomas L. Friedman The New Yo...

13 hours ago

Solar Farm in Riesel, Texas
13 hours ago

How Trump’s ‘Big, Beautiful Bill’ Will Make China Great Again

Caitlin Clark Signs T-Shirt
13 hours ago

What’s Caitlin Clark Worth to the WNBA? A Lot More Than Her $78,066 Salary.

President Donald Trump speaks during a press conference in the Roosevelt Room at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., May 12, 2025. (Reuters File)
1 day ago

Trump to Sign Tax-Cut and Spending Bill in July 4 Ceremony

The Madre Fire burning near New Cuyama has scorched 70,801 acres as of Friday, July 4, 2025, afternoon, making it California’s largest wildfire of the year, with only 10% containment and multiple evacuation zones in place. (CalFire)
1 day ago

Madre Fire Spurs Evacuations Across 3 Counties, Grows to More Than 70,000 Acres

1 day ago

Clovis, Sanger, Madera, and Bass Lake Will Light the Sky With Fireworks Shows Tonight

A pumpjack operates at the Vermilion Energy site in Trigueres, France, June 14, 2024. (Reuters File)
1 day ago

Oil Dips Ahead of Expected OPEC+ Output Increase

Palestinians gather to collect what remains of relief supplies from the distribution center of the U.S.-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, in Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip, June 5, 2025. (Reuters File)
1 day ago

613 Killed at Gaza Aid Distribution Sites, Near Humanitarian Covoys, Says UN

Billy Wayne Sinisgalli, a 54-year-old transient known locally as Wayne, was found dead along a rural Fresno road Wednesday in what authorities are investigating as a suspicious death. (Fresno County SO)
1 day ago

Fresno County Authorities Investigating Suspicious Death of Transient Man

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend