Published: November 10, 2008 01:34 am      

FALLS SCHOOLS SERIES: Credit card purchases for meals and golfing go unchecked

For an avid golfer, the course at the Peek’n Peak is probably worth the two-hour drive from Niagara Falls. Located in scenic Findley Lake, the course is 6,260 yards with a slope rating of 122.

On a summer Wednesday in 2005, then-Business Administrator James Ingrasci, Maintenance and Operations Supervisor Lawrence “Butch” Beyer and Assistant Supervisor of Operations David Spacone played 18 holes at the Peek’n Peak. Afterward, they had lunch at Tavern on the Tee, where they each ordered a sandwich and soda.

The total cost for that golf outing was $532.46. And it was all covered by Niagara Falls City School District taxpayers on Ingrasci’s district credit card.

Under the state’s Freedom of Information Law, the Niagara Gazette went through roughly 20,000 billing statements and receipts from district-issued credit cards from 2004 through 2008. Just as state Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli slammed the Falls school district last month and the state Education Department pointed out in 2004, a lack of documentation was found to justify meals, travel and other possibly personal expenses.

On another summer 2005 day, Ingrasci charged a three-night stay at the Peek’n Peak to his district credit card. The total cost was $1,174.36 and, like the other charge, there was no indication the outing served a district purpose or that Ingrasci reimbursed the school district for a personal expense.

Joseph Giarrizzo, the district’s director of finances, said personal golfing trips should not be paid for by the district and “a lot” of Peek’n Peak charges were repaid. Superintendent Carmen Granto charged a $1,200 golfing outing from March 2005 to his district credit card, but a note on the receipt indicated he was billed because it was a personal charge.

Board president Robert Kazeangin said board policy would allow the district to cover expenses for a business meeting on the golf course, such as negotiations with a vendor, provided it served a district interest and the purpose of the meeting was documented.

That same policy extends to business meetings at restaurants.

But when Granto charged $30.87 for a meal at The Como restaurant to his unrestricted American Express card on April 14, 2005, there was no receipt or explanation that the meal was district-related.

Ingrasci provided a receipt for an outing to The Como on June 29, 2005, where at 12:40 p.m. he and two other guests ordered sodas, hot peppers, soup and salads. But the receipt did not state who dined with Ingrasci or what they discussed.

Although the Gazette noticed several memorandums in billing records urging administrators to submit proper documentation, records showed no indication the district refused to pay undocumented meals — including a $226.58 charge at Water Street Landing in Lewiston for three people. No receipt was provided for the charge on Beyer’s unrestricted American Express card from Aug. 4, 2004, but notes written on the billing statement indicated Beyer was joined by then-Business Administrator Roy Rogers and Grants Administrator Nicholas Marchelos.

Those undocumented meals took place in between two state audits that cited improper documentation for questionable expenses. The state Education Department audited the district from July 1, 2001 through September 30, 2003, while DiNapoli audited from July 1, 2005 through Dec. 5, 2007.

Giarrizzo, who took over the business department this summer when Ingrasci abruptly retired early, admitted the district’s past practices were too lax. But since DiNapoli’s audit was released, Giarrizzo said the district has been “stringent” on ensuring all charges are properly documented.

“Unfortunately, it’s a cultural shift,” he said. “The culture was ‘OK, you don’t have the receipt. We’ll make you sign an affidavit that says you didn’t do anything wrong.’ Well, that little affidavit piece of paper isn’t good enough anymore. We need the itemized receipt.”

The Board of Education relies on the business office to check charges, Kazeangin said, but since DiNapoli’s audit, the board will be carefully reviewing all of its policies and procedures. He added the $226.58 charge for Water Street Landing seemed excessive.

“I would’ve hoped there would’ve been documentation as to why there was a meeting held and why for three people to go to dinner it was $230. That seems high,” Kazeangin said. “... My belief is if there isn’t documentation and they don’t give us detailed information, it should not be reimbursed. That would be something I’d recommend to the board.”

Giarrizzo said undocumented expenses were largely legitimate and the district is “putting the hammer down” on employees to submit required documents.

“They were sins of omission, not sins of commission,” he said. “We were sloppy in our bookkeeping and sloppy in our documentation, but nobody was buying a Mercedes or gifts for their family. We were just guilty, and embarrassingly so, of being sloppy.”

Contact reporter Caitlin Murray at 282-2311, ext. 2251.