Accused of Padding Timesheets, N.Y. Lawyer Quits Part-Time Job & Law Firm
Updated: A New York law firm at which 12 attorneys reportedly have been under investigation in an ongoing statewide probe of school district pension payments to lawyers is now in the news for another reason.
James McCarthy, who was counsel to the Albany, N.Y., law firm until Friday, has resigned from Girvin & Ferlazzo after resigning earlier the same day from a part-time job at the state Department of Correctional Services. He was paid almost $61,000 annually for the not quite 19-hour-a-week position, which involved preparing legal documents concerning the extradition and rendition of fugitives and accused criminals. However, a report by the state inspector general’s office says he worked, during a 12-week period last year, considerably less time than he listed on his timesheets, reports the Business Review.
Acting on an anonymous tip, the state inspector general compared the timesheets with information from electronic swipe cards that workers use to enter and exit state buildings. McCarthy reportedly logged 218 hours on his timesheets during that period, but actually worked only 98, resulting in a $6,000 overpayment. According to a written report by the inspector general, Business Review wrote, “McCarthy exaggerated his time sheets and was often either at Girvin & Ferlazzo or at Wolferts Roost Country Club in Albany when he was allegedly on the clock.”
As discussed in an earlier ABAJournal.com post, the firm, which is known for its expertise in education law, is part of an ongoing state and federal probe. Initially focused, as far as the state is concerned, on pension payments to lawyers for Long Island school districts, the investigation by New York’s attorney general, Andrew Cuomo, is now reportedly is looking at payments to all professionals who do work at all government agencies within the state.
The investigation was touched off by Newsday reports earlier this year of a Long Island lawyer, Lawrence Reich, who claimed to have worked 1,286 days in a single year for local school districts. The state comptroller has since called for Reich to repay pension money he has received from New York, saying that he was actually an independent contractor misclassified as a state employee.
Reich told Newsday initially that he had done nothing wrong and had “followed essentially a practice that was very common among my colleagues in the industry.”
In a resignation letter to the state last week, McCarthy said he resigned “so as not to be a distraction” and said he is proud of the work he has done for the corrections department, the Business Review reports. He says he has successfully overseen more than 4,000 extraditions.
Update:
Since this post was originally written, there have been new developments: One prosecutor said yesterday that public pensions for no-show school district jobs were a “partnership perk” for some Girvin & Ferlazzo lawyers. Meanwhile, state attorney general Andrew Cuomo contends that “hundreds and hundreds” of lawyers throughout the state are involved in arrangements to receive public pension credit even though they are not government employees.
Updated at 11:25 a.m., central time, on May 9, 2008, to include information about subsequent ABAJournal.com posts.
