Probe of ex-fleet chief continues

Based on almost two months investigation, it appears former county fleet director Jack Stepongzi's personal payments on the side were confined to only one parts supplier.
But that could change pending more probing by the sheriff's office and the state attorney's office.
"We're still checking with vendors throughout the country," said Sgt. Donna Black with the sheriff's office. "Nothing further has developed at this time with the vendors that have been checked out so far. But the investigation is ongoing.
"We're going to the nth degree," Black said.
Assistant State Attorney Mark Simpson echoed those thoughts and said it looks at this point as if Stepongzi only received personal checks from one vendor out of Texas.
"It appears to be an isolated case," Simpson said.
The state attorney's office and the sheriff's department have been jointly conducting an investigation into the activities of the fleet department, a move prompted by an expose in Hernando Today of alleged kickbacks by its former director.
Simpson said he got involved after reading an Oct. 30 Hernando Today article where Stepongzi admitted to a reporter he was accepting 10 percent commissions on the purchase of GPS units from Texas-based Velocity between December 2007 and July 2008.
In all, Stepongzi said he had received $332.
Mixson gave Stepongzi a scathing job performance review on his last evaluation in June, and warned of termination if he didn't improve.
The evaluation also laid the blame of a huge $350,000 department deficit squarely on Stepongzi's shoulders.
At the time, Mixson said it was the lowest marks he had ever given a manager.
In that evaluation, Mixson said Stepongzi was not meeting performance expectations, demonstrated lapses in judgment, lacked common sense, made poor decisions and failed to adequately manage the fleet division.
That evaluation was followed by a critical county audit that included a laundry list of infractions since Stepongzi was hired in December 2007.
Among other things, the audit said Stepongzi used his county-issued phone to place and receive 9.5 hours of non-business, long-distance calls without any record of reimbursement to the county; frequently went to lunch with vendors doing business with the county; earned income on a personal Web site that could have conflicted with his fleet duties; and had parts delivered to his county office for his own use.