WALSENBURG — Two city employees are fired after the mayor tells News5 CBI investigators found there is evidence the employees rigged the billing system and paid partially, or not at all, for natural gas service.
Mayor Gary Vezzani confirms the director of the Walsenburg Natural Gas Department, and a city clerk were fired for cause. The CBI informed city leaders that they found the director had not paid for gas at his house for years. The amount of time was not immediately available.
News5 reached out to the director and have not heard back. Vezzani says he has agreed to pay restitution.
Investigators informed the city that the clerk paid $49 a month, which the mayor understands is the monthly balance associated with a payment plan available for users who cannot afford to pay a large heating bill in the winter. It's unclear how long she has been paying that rate.
There is also a third employee who was paying a discounted rate. Vezzani says the city administrator determined that person was misled to believe that was a perk of her job and has only worked there for a short time, so she kept her job.
CBI investigators began looking into potential financial crimes in Walsenburg's government in February. Walsenburg runs its own gas and water utility.
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Shortly after the investigation began, two other employees who worked in the city's billing department were placed on administrative leave.
The CBI found those employees set up at least 100 of their friends and family to pay a flat $25 gas rate without mandatory utility, debt, and repair fees that other gas users pay, Vezzani said.
In a meeting on the evening of March 18, Vezzani plans to announce an end to the discounted rates that he said the city was unaware of, and city attorneys are determining whether the users will have to pay restitution.
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