A police investigation of a plumber convicted of bribing city workers found no wrongdoing beyond an FBI probe that led to charges against three men, a city spokeswoman said this week.
The owner of Zoby Mechanical, was charged in March 2013 with bribing city workers and submitting fraudulent invoices to the city. His company had been the city’s plumbing contractor since 2001.
Zoby is serving a 15-month prison sentence. Two former city employees, a plumbing supervisor and a maintenance supervisor also plead guilty following an FBI investigation. A Virginian-Pilot investigation last year showed how Zoby overbilled the city for a decade.
The city investigation – completed last week – examined whether any other city workers were involved in fraud and found there were none according to a Norfolk City Official.
In a memo to City Council members Friday, City Manager Marcus Jones wrote: “At the conclusion of the investigation, there is no evidence that any other city employees are involved in this criminal act.”
The report by city police won’t be made public. A Norfolk City Official stated under the FOIA statute the City is allowed to withhold it.
Sitting next to Jones at Tuesday’s informal session of the City Council, Councilman Andy Protogyrou said the city manager’s three-sentence report to the council was “not right.”
“I’m thinking I’m going to get a memorandum and instead I get three sentences,” said Protogyrou, who initially asked for a city investigation.
“We as a council know nothing as to what went on. If PD did an investigation, then I want to know what happened.”
Vice Mayor Angelia Williams said she agreed with Protogyrou. “These are things that just don’t make our city look good.”
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