Monday, April 6, 1998 | 8:29 a.m.
Commission members will decide whether former Reno-Sparks Sewage Treatment Plant Manager John Gonzales violated the state ethics code.
Gonzales pushed city officials five years ago to purchase sludge pumps from a friend, even though they were $41,310 higher than the lowest bid. The pumps, which cost $311,175, have been plagued by mechanical problems.
Gonzales was demoted and given an $8,006 pay cut last summer after an investigation by Sparks, which operates the sewer plant for both cities.
If the ethics commission finds Gonzales violated the ethics code, he could face a $5,000 fine and further disciplinary action by the city, said Deputy Attorney General Louis Ling.
The panel has subpoenaed information from the city's investigation and will rely heavily on it, Ling said.
The state ethics code prohibits governmental employees from giving unwarranted advantages or privileges to any person or business.
Gonzales was criticized by the city for steering the bid to salesman D.B. "Butch" Gorshing, a friend.
At about the same time the city awarded the bids to Gorshing's company, Gorshing bought a Lake Tahoe house several doors down from Gonzales' vacation house.
Two years after the pumps were installed and major problems with them surfaced, Gonzales appeared in trade magazine ads promoting the equipment.
City Manager Terry Reynolds said the city now is preparing to go out to bid to find replacement pumps. The city also is preparing a lawsuit against the company, V-Ram, to recover some of the money spent on them.
The public hearing will begin at 9 a.m. April 23 at the Silver Club Hotel Casino in Sparks.
archive
