Fleet boss admits to kickbacks

County Fleet Manager Jack Stepongzi was escorted out of the department of public works building in Brooksville on Thursday, just two hours after admitting to Hernando Today he accepted kickbacks from a Texas parts supplier.

Stepongzi is scheduled to meet at 8 a.m. Monday with his supervisor, County Engineer Charles Mixson, and County Administrator David Hamilton, who will decide his fate.

In an emotional interview with a Hernando Today reporter, Stepongzi said he arranged a deal with San Marcos-based Vulocity in which he received 10 percent from each sale of a global positioning system which enabled county department managers to track employees.

Stepongzi saidhe started receiving money in December 2008 and the payments continued through July 2009. During that time, he purchased five GPS units for the county for a total $3,321. He said the company cut him checks for each sold unit and he pocketed a total of $332.

Vulocity also charged the fleet department $2,691 for an annual subscription for the GPS units. Stepongzi said he did not receive payments from those fees.

Stepongzi said correspondence between himself and a Vulocity salesman was done on his personal e-mail and that checks were cut on his own account.

When confronted Thursday with documents obtained by Hernando Today, Stepongzi appeared visibly shaken and spoke haltingly about needing the money, even though he said it only amounted to $332.

Stepongzi, who was hired Dec. 31, 2007, makes $64,272 a year, excluding benefits.

"I don't make a lot of money," Stepongzi said, adding that "every little bit helps."

He said he realizes the seriousness of the matter and that this revelation will likely cost him his job.

"If it comes out, I'm gone," he said. "I have nobody to blame but myself."

Stepongzi said he has ceased accepting money from Vulocity and insisted that was the only company from which he received commissions.

Mixson was on vacation Thursday and unavailable for comment. Stepongzi said Mixson knew nothing of the private payments.

Hernando Today tracked down the Vulocity salesman who dealt with Stepongzi by following a string of e-mails between the two.

Vulocity salesman Manuel Fernandez confirmed by telephone that his company was cutting Stepongzi a 10-percent commission check on the GPS units.

"You've got the e-mails," Fernandez told a reporter.

Fernandez then said he had to end the conversation abruptly because of a telephone call.

In an e-mail dated Oct. 6, Fernandez asks Stepongzi to remind him how much commission the company was paying the fleet manager.

"... If my mind serves me, we were paying you 10 percent of the hardware," Fernandez said. "Please confirm and I'll have the CFO cut the check."

Vulocity sells monitoring devices to municipalities and private individuals.

Hernando Today then obtained all the invoices between Stepongzi and Vulocity. The invoices on county copies did not match the ones sent by Fernandez to Stepongzi.

Stepongzi said he does not believe his actions rise to the level of kickbacks because the Vulocity checks were paid to him on the side and did not affect the ultimate cost of the monitoring devices.

He instead called it a "side business." He also stressed that Vulocity was the lowest bidder for the GPS units.

County Commissioner John Druzbick said he takes objection to those comments.

"He most certainly is taking money from the taxpayers," Druzbick said. "We pay for those parts using taxpayer dollars. Is the company kicking back to him by raising the prices of those parts or services?"

And for Stepongzi to call it a commission is inaccurate, he added.

"He's not working as an independent salesperson, so he doesn't demand a commission," Druzbick said.

Although he believes Stepongzi did the right thing in owning up to his actions, "it does give the appearance obviously of him receiving a bribe or a kickback and it is totally unacceptable."

When told that Stepongzi was worried about losing his job, Druzbick said "I would be worried (too)."

Hamilton said the county moved quickly in removing Stepongzi from his office and it will move equally fast in determining his future with the organization.

Hamilton said there have been ongoing problems with the fleet department and this latest incident brings those problems to the forefront.

"The integrity and accountability of the county are at stake," he said.

In December 2007, Stepongzi replaced then-manager Terry Yeager, who left under a cloud following an unfavorable audit of the department. The county brought in Stepongzi to help turn things around and put more emphasis on tracking employee driving usage and gas consumption.

During his tenure, he helped bring in a fuel-monitoring system, along with the GPS units.

Stepongzi was fleet operations manager for Pinellas County from 2004 to 2007. He also worked at Tampa Electric Company for more than 20 years, mainly as fleet services supervisor.