Four workers punished for misusing New York City property

Four New York City workers punished for ethics violations include a vehicle-fleet manager who admitted using an agency car to drive his mom to a Pier 1 Imports store in Freeport on Black Friday to shop for a chair, according to the city’s Conflicts of Interest Board.

Under a civil plea bargain with the board, Joel LeMaitre, who works for the housing authority, was suspended for 10 days, which will cost LeMaitre $2,222, and put on employment probation. LeMaitre works for the authority as a community coordinator, and was responsible for maintaining his unit’s fleet of seven cars.

“I used a NYCHA car that was not assigned to me to transport my mother, who is not a NYCHA employee, to buy a chair at Pier 1 Imports in Freeport, New York. I then transported my mother and the chair back to her home,” he wrote according to a disclosure signed in December and released Tuesday.

Also Tuesday, the board said Susan Patterson, a contract specialist for the Department of Youth and Community Development, was fined $1,000 and suspended for four days for using her agency computer to run her online retail business during work hours over a period of four months. The suspension will cost Patterson $1,112.

The board also ruled that Sanitation Department workers Terry Hooks and Desmond Darmalingum drove their department truck to a vacant lot to meet with contractors who were making a delivery. Darmalingum, who lives near the lot, was suspended for 10 days, losing $2,971. Hooks, who received no personal benefit but helped Darmalingum, got a seven-day suspension, costing him $2,079.

Lawyers or representatives of the four workers did not respond to messages seeking comment.

By Matthew Chayes

matthew.chayes@newsday.comchayesmatthew

Matthew Chayes, a Newsday reporter since 2007, covers New York City.