NORFOLK–Jill McGlone, the former Community Services Board employee who was paid for 12 years without showing up for work, said on Thursday that she feels vindicated by the decision of the city’s top prosecutor not to file criminal charges against her or anyone else.
The media attention has ruined her reputation, McGlone said.
“My name and my picture have been all over the newspaper and all over TV,” she said. “You haven’t mentioned anybody but my name. It’s all about me. It’s all about Jill McGlone.”
“If I’ve been vindicated, put those words in the paper. Please put that in the paper.”
She declined to answer further questions.
Meanwhile, the attorney for two employees forced to resign over the scandal demanded an apology from the board and the city attorney’s office.
Linda Berardi and Anthony Crisp were among five employees who lost their jobs over the scandal, which was first revealed in August in The Virginian-Pilot.
A month later, the agency’s executive director held a news conference to announce the resignations of Berardi and Crisp and that other employees also had been asked to leave.
“They were real quick to call a press conference and run their mouths about my clients. Now they should do the right thing and apologize,” attorney Kevin Martingayle said.
On Wednesday, Commonwealth’s Attorney Greg Underwood announced that he did not have enough evidence to charge anyone over the incident. However, Underwood cited former CSB staffers for poor management.
McGlone collected nearly $320,000 during the 12 years that she remained on the payroll but did not work. She has said in court papers that she was suspended in 1998 by the agency, but after being reinstated, repeatedly attempted to return to work. City and CSB officials have said they do not know why McGlone was paid for so long without working.
Martingayle, a Virginia Beach attorney, has sued the CSB for defamation on behalf of his clients. The CSB in turn has sued the former staffers and three other former agency employees, including McGlone, seeking repayment of the $320,000.
Martingayle said it is “highly unusual” for the city to hold a news conference to announce forced resignations and firings.
During the conference, Executive Director Maureen Womack criticized all five employees, saying there was “an egregious error in judgment by some good people.” A member of the city attorney’s office said employees gave conflicting evidence during an investigation and that some “are not telling the whole truth.”
The city attorney’s office conducted an initial, 4-1/2-month investigation before Womack requested that the Norfolk police investigate.
“Keep in mind, at the time, they had already conducted their own investigation,” Martingayle said. Underwood’s findings, he added, indicate “they had no reasonable basis for believing that my clients had committed a criminal act. The press conference was all about PR and protecting the city’s image.
“This just underscores the recklessness of those comments. Now it’s time for them to do a mea culpa and apologize.”
Responding by email Thursday, City Attorney Bernard A. Pishko defended Womack’s actions.
“The executive director of the CSB exercised good judgment in asking the police to investigate the improper payments to Jill McGlone and in fully cooperating with state and federal investigators, which have not yet announced their conclusions,” Pishko wrote.
The city attorney’s office has said federal officials are investigating, but the FBI has declined to comment.
By Harry Minium
The Virginian-Pilot
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