NYC Correction Dept. misconduct chief dinged $5,200 for using city car for commute, errands
The director of the unit of the Ministry of Correction who investigates the unconducting staff was affected with $ 5,200 in fines and reimbursements in the city for having misused a government car to go to and from the house and to do “personal races”, said the board of conflicts of the city conflicts on Wednesday.
Lawrence McGugins, Director of the Doc Special Investigation Unit, used the city’s car as his personal car 118 times between January 2023 and February 2024, accumulating $ 1,234.81 in 257 trips to E-ZPASS, which he was forced to reimburse, and a fine of $ 4,000, that he was to reimburse a payment plan, said the board of directors.
The board noted that McGugins picked the vehicle in a NYPD land in the Bronx “to prevent the vehicle’s GPS system from triggering an alert” which would occur if it led it through the city lines, the Board of Directors revealed.
The vehicle was a “swimming pool” car, intended for the use of SIU staff for investigative work on Rikers Island, and McGugins was not allowed to use it for its journey.
McGugins would lead from his home from the county of Westchester to a parking lot in the NYPD in the Bronx, then would use the DOC car to go to work, noted the board of directors. At the end of the working day, he would bring back the DOC car to the batch of the police service.
On the days he did not work, he left the vehicle in the batch of the police department, when another Doc personnel could not use it, Coib said.
He also used the car for unpertified personal races at Long Island City, Flushing and Manhattan, noted the board of directors.
As part of a regulation, McGugins was forced to sign a public document recognizing misconduct, according to a copy of this document. He said he thought the car was for his use to visit Doc Sondus employees for fault.
“At all the relevant moments, I wrongly thought that I was awarded a doc vehicle to perform these tasks,” recognizes McGugins in the regulations. “I now recognize that the vehicle was for shared use. I recognize that I was not allowed to use a doc vehicle to move. ”
McGugins’ lawyer Albert Ebanks, did not immediately respond to a request for comments.
The correction service did not respond to a request for comments.
Two commissioners for correction were previously entangled in the scandal after having used their department vehicles for personal reasons. In 2017, the news reported that the press release at the time, Joseph Ponte, used his doc car several times to go to his Maine home.
Still in 2017, correction commissioner Cynthia Brann and eight other Doc officials were fined for having used city cars for personal reasons.
