Las Vegas Sun

March 29, 2024

Henderson workers charged in theft

UPDATED STORY: One charge dropped in credit case

Two employees of the Henderson water treatment plant have been charged with felony theft in a bizarre case that includes accusations of buying expensive art work, purchasing equipment used for outside construction work, employee intimidation, getting paid when not working and taking excessive overtime.

Joe Louis Montelongo, 39, of Henderson, turned himself over to Henderson Police on Monday after he was notified of a warrant for his arrest. Lennard James Alkire, 46, of Henderson, turned himself in on Tuesday, said police spokesman Keith Paul. Both were released on their own recognizance the same day they were arrested, Paul said.

The Clark County district attorney's office filed the charges against the two men on Sept. 21 as part of a six-month investigation of alleged misuse of city-issued credit cards and purchases.

Since the charges were filed, both men have been moved from paid to unpaid leave, said Assistant City Manager Mark Calhoun. The district attorney's office declined to file charges against a third employee as requested by police.

The investigation painted an unflattering picture of the management at the city's water treatment plant on Athens Avenue. Five of the plant's 19 employees were placed on leave in March, and three remain on paid leave today as an internal city investigation attempts to determine whether they should be fired or punished in some other way, Calhoun said.

Alkire, the unit supervisor of water operations at the treatment plant, was accused in the warrant affidavit of purchasing $8,950 worth of art, consisting of three American history prints, one of which was alleged to have seen displayed in his home.

He was also accused of giving away in January a 125 gallon tank, motor and hose worth $2,200 to Sunset Oasis Landscape and using equipment purchased for the city for outside construction work.

Montelongo, a water facilities operator at the plant, was accused of purchasing large amounts of construction equipment that he is alleged to have used for his construction business and was accused of having more than $10,000 in construction equipment, of which $3,000 was purchased by him, according to the affidavit.

Montelongo and Alkire, who do not have attorneys listed in court records, are scheduled to be arraigned Thursday in Henderson Justice Court.

Montelongo is accused of felony theft of $2,500 and above, which carries a maximum sentence of up to 10 years in prison and a $10,000 fine, said Eric Jorgenson, a chief deputy district attorney.

Alkire is accused of theft between $250 and $2,500, which carries a maximum sentence of five years in a prison and a $10,000 fine, Jorgenson said.

The purchases involve the use of city-issued credit cards that are typically used for day-to-day supplies and expenses of departments. Most of the 225 city employees who have the cards have limits of $1,500 per transaction and $15,000 per month.

The investigation centered on widespread abuse of the cards in which Alkire was accused of using several employees' cards to make purchases, circumventing the rules, the affidavit said.

It was discovered there were several transactions with vendors who were paid a substantial amount of money for work that would normally be performed by other departments within the city. Many of the vendors had close relationships with Montelongo and Alkire, the affidavit said.

"The vendors were paid large sums of money to complete duplicate work or work that could be performed by other entities within the city of Henderson," the affidavit said.

In addition, Montelongo and Alkire were accused of purchasing large amounts of construction equipment and landscape materials, according to the affidavit, which added that Alkire obtained a side job with Jerry's Nugget.

Montelongo owned a construction company called Green Valley Decorative Curbing and with Alkire's help built patios and completed construction jobs on city time using items purchased with the credit cards and purchase orders, the affidavit said.

Five days after Henderson served search warrants, Montelongo brought a pickup truck loaded with equipment that included several drills, cement mixer, sprayer, saws, compressors, the affidavit said.

The report described a dysfunctional setting at the city's water treatment plant in which employees were divided between the "A-team" -- known by employees as "The Golden Boys" or "The Little Mafia" -- and the "B Team."

Several junior operators were prematurely promoted or given special projects to handle, which gave them privileges and access not afforded more senior operators, including making their own hours and being issued laptop computers, the affidavit said.

Members of the "A-team" would take advantage of overtime, arrive late for work, leave early and not be accounted for. Companies' vehicles were positioned to make it appear employees were working when they were home, the affidavit said.

Employees who questioned the practice of using their purchase cards and other practices were the subject of verbal abuse or received poor assignments such as no overtime or weekend shifts, the affidavit said.

Alkire was listed in one newspaper report as earning more than $100,000 a year, the 40th highest paid employee in the city, which prompted his overtime be limited, the affidavit said.

Calhoun said he's pleased the criminal investigation has been completed and that the internal investigation will "help make sense of what happened." He said any problems uncovered will be be corrected and the city will work to prevent it from happening again.

An internal auditor will conduct random checks of credit card statements, said Finance Director Steve Hanson. The city has lowered the limit on credit cards on 71 of the 225 employees who have them, from $1,500 to either $1,000 or $500 per transaction. Some have had their monthly amounts lowered from $15,000 to $10,000.

The city is also setting up software to obtain more details on credit card statements that will send up warning flags, Hanson said.10Alkire

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