You’re Fired! x 47

By Rachelle Bowden in News on Aug 26, 2005 6:33PM

The attempted cleanup of City Hall continued on Thursday as 47 employees were terminated for reasons ranging from falsifying time cards, theft and bribery. The affected employees come from a variety of departments, and stem from the federal investigation regarding the city’s Hired Truck Program, which has widened to include the city’s hiring practices. So if you are looking for a job, apparently there are a lot of openings with the city.

The firings were announced by Daley’s Chief of Staff (and Chief of Cleaning House) Ron Huberman, who also announced that he cannot determine who hired Angelo Torres, the one time gang member and military man, who, after being hired as a car booter in 1996, eventually rose up to become Director of the Hired Truck Program in 2000.

Huberman is hoping that the federal investigation into the Hired Truck Program will reveal who is ultimately responsible for the hiring of Torres, who pleaded guilty to extortion conspiracy, mail fraud, bribery, and filing false tax returns earlier this year, and refuses to name names.

As if that wasn’t enough for one press conference, Huberman also stated that the hired truck program would not be handed over to a private contractor as previously planned, and would instead be reformed from within and eventually eliminated altogether.

Hmmm… Wonder what the Vegas odds are on ever finding out who is really behind this Hired Truck puzzle…

Thanks, Amy (+Mike)!