Casting assistant's past prompts calls for screening

By Dawn C. Chmielewski
Los Angeles Times

A convicted child molester working as a Hollywood casting director began cooperating with a Los Angeles Police Department investigation, while child protection advocates called for background checks for those with access to child actors.

Jason James Murphy, who served prison time for the 1996 kidnapping and molesting of an 8-year-old boy in suburban Seattle, has spent the last decade working as a casting assistant. He helped find young actors for movies including the science fiction hit "Super 8" and the forthcoming comedy "The Three Stooges."

The casting directors who hired Murphy — who obtained casting jobs under the name Jason James — said they were unaware of his criminal conviction. LAPD representatives said Friday that, although Murphy is under investigation, there is no evidence that he had committed new crimes.

Murphy's Hollywood career has caused anxiety among parents of child actors on the film and TV audition circuit.
"They're just freaking out," said Anne Henry, co-founder of BizParentz Foundation, a nonprofit support group for parents whose children work in the entertainment industry. Henry said she spent the morning dealing with frantic parents worried that Murphy might have been alone with their children during casting sessions and could have obtained photos or videotapes of them.

"It's the one place in our industry when the kids are alone," Henry said. "In casting situations, the parents are never in the room for an audition. Some guy comes up. They take your kid down the hall and disappear for 20 minutes. You never know."

Murphy, 35, is cooperating with an investigation into whether he complied with requirements for registered sex offenders, said Det. Christopher Merlo of the department's West Bureau Registration Enforcement and Compliance Team. "It's a complicated investigation because we have to do a lot of research on where he's been and what he's done," Merlo said, adding that detectives so far have no evidence of additional victims.

Murphy has declined repeated requests for interviews. Henry and other advocates called for fingerprinting and background checks for anyone having contact with minors, as is customary for coaches, Boy Scout leaders and child-care providers.

"The industry has to recognize we have any number of predators who have insinuated themselves into the world of children. They are dance teachers, drama teachers, gymnastics teachers, coaches — as we have seen at Penn State," said Paul Petersen, a former child actor who founded A Minor Consideration, a nonprofit advocacy group for young performers. "And no one is doing any checking."

Others called on unions to do more thorough screening.

Acting coach and manager Betty Bridges has been vocal about pressing the unions to conduct thorough checks on casting agents and directors. Her son Todd, who starred on the NBC comedy "Diff'rent Strokes," was sexually abused as a child by his publicist. "The unions need to do a background check," she said. "They need to make sure that every time they put in a casting director, they need to know what her or his background is."
Since 2008, under the name Jason James, Murphy has been a member of Teamsters Local 399, whose business agent, Ed Duffy, said, "We're very saddened by this situation, if in fact it's true."

Local 399 also represents location managers and studio drivers. But unlike drivers, Duffy said, casting directors do not have to be licensed and are not subject to drug and alcohol testing. "It's up to the employer to vet these people," he added

Posted by Pebi Services President Tyra Hearns

Revealing background Investigations on Alabama college workers conducted despite objections from the Alabama Education Association

The reults of background checks on employees of the two-year college system prove the state Board of Education was right to ignore Alabama Education Association objections.

The AEA did everything it could to keep college officials from finding out whether any of their teachers or staff members had felony criminal records. The teachers' organization lobbied against the proposed background checks, and when that failed it dragged the two-year system into court.

The lawsuit resulted in the system telling employees that providing Social Security numbers –– which would have made the checks more accurate –– was optional.

Even so, after checking the background of more than 9,300 employees, officials identified 73 who had been convicted of felony charges, including sexual assault and murder.

The system appears to be handling the revelations in an appropriate manner. Those people whose convictions were 20 or so years ago, and who have lived exemplary lives since then, were allowed to stay on the job. Eight others were terminated, four left voluntarily, and six found their contracts not renewed. The fate of 32 others is still being decided.

Granted, more than 100 employees were flagged as possibly having a criminal record when they didn't have one. The AEA is understandably hot about that.

Nevertheless, AEA's criticism of Chancellor Bradley Byrne and the school board for wrongly accusing the innocent employees seems disingenuous. The mistakes are understandable, and no one was fired because of a false accusation.

The bottom line is that at least 18 people who should never have been working for the system will no longer be in a position to harm students or compromise the colleges in any way, and that proves the background checks were good policy.

Posted by Pebi Services President Tyra Hearns

New Jersey job applicant falsifies law enforcement letters that enabled his employment

A 53-year-old Ocean County man has been charged with forging letters from law enforcement officials, authorities said yesterday.

Silvester Colonna of Manahawkin was arrested on Friday and charged with two counts of criminal impersonation and three counts of forgery, Union County Prosecutor Theodore J. Romankow said. Bail for Colonna was set at $40,000.

Investigators in the prosecutor's office said Colonna was hired by a Hillside company that specializes in international trade. The company performed a background check on Colonna before he was hired, which revealed several criminal convictions. Colonna denied he had a criminal background and, in an attempt to hide his past, forged several letters, authorities said. One letter was ostensibly from the Middlesex County prosecutor stat ing that the Silvester Colonna employed by the company was not the same Silvester Colonna with the criminal convictions, authorities said.

Noticing several inconsistencies and grammatical mistakes in the letters, company officials contacted the Middlesex County Prosecutor's Office, which denied knowledge of the letters and referred the case to Union County.

Colonna was arrested after a two-month investigation.

Posted by Pebi Services President Tyra Hearns

Background Investigations in Indiana have failed the students

By Andy Gammill
Indianapolis Star

The 7-year-old tried to keep her teacher's hands off her.

She faked stomachaches, hoping to stay home from school.

When that failed, a prosecutor later said, the girl wore dresses so the teacher couldn't slip his hand down the back of her pants.

It was a battle she might have been spared in another state: Four years earlier, two different girls in different classes accused the same teacher, Jeffrey Baber, of the same thing. Nothing happened after police discounted those claims.

In Georgia, the accusations would have been enough to spark a review by state investigators.

In Ohio, the allegations would have been put on record for parents to check.

In Utah and other states, the complaints likely would have cost him his educator's license.

In Indiana, he kept teaching.

The case highlights flaws in the state's approach to protecting schoolchildren. The Indiana Department of Education's efforts are largely limited to conducting criminal background checks within Indiana and checking newspaper clippings for educators who have been arrested. That information helps the state revoke 10 to 20 licenses a year.

Other states go much further to find and remove teachers who could put children at risk.

Most do more extensive nationwide criminal checks. Some require police and district officials to notify state authorities when a teacher has been investigated, arrested or accused of misconduct.

Indiana relies mainly on local school systems to root out dangerous teachers, a method that doesn't always work. Districts sometimes bury records of embarrassing or thorny cases in their files, hiding information from the public and other schools looking to hire a teacher.

Indiana's problems are no surprise to legislators, superintendents, school boards or members of the state's Board of Education. They've known for years that schools may unknowingly hire teachers who pose a threat to students.

"It scares the hell out of me," said Todd Huston, Fishers, a member of the State Board of Education. "The problem now is that we don't really have sustained policies. It's on a district-by-district basis."

Attempts to strengthen the safeguards have stalled.

What's left is so ineffective that no one can say how many of the state's 62,000 licensed teachers have criminal records, or whether predators are making the rounds of Indiana schools.

An Indianapolis Star review of Marion County police reports found dozens of current teachers with arrests for crimes including battery on a police officer, domestic battery, repeated traffic violations, soliciting a prostitute and drunken driving -- some as many as two or three times. Although they may be alarming to parents, some of these offenses might not be grounds for revocation of a teaching license.

The Star's investigation also found four cases where state laws didn't keep teachers out of classrooms even after more serious problems arose.

The result? Children taught by a teacher arrested on a charge of cocaine dealing. A teacher who brought marijuana to school. One with a long history of intimidating students.

And Baber.

After a jury convicted him of molesting the 7-year-old in 2005, he pleaded guilty to molesting another girl.

And another one. He had been molesting Beech Grove schoolchildren for at least four years.

The district's insurers paid out $740,000 to three victims.

Baber finally lost his license to teach.

Background checks

Limited Indiana search lets Florida drug dealer in school

Michael Warner's references described him as an energetic, charming role model, and officials at Irvington Community School were excited to hire him.

The new science teacher passed a criminal history check by the charter school, and the state had stopped running checks on him because he held a lifetime teaching license.

Even if the Department of Education had screened him again, the checks run by the school and the state review only Indiana court records and would have missed his arrest in Florida on a charge of dealing cocaine.

Florida officials said Warner pleaded guilty to possessing cocaine with intent to sell and was sentenced to 90 days in jail and three years of probation.

More than 40 states require comprehensive background checks that turn up arrests across the country before teachers can be licensed to teach. Indiana does check a national database of teachers who have lost their licenses, but beyond that, state law requires a "limited criminal history" check that reviews Indiana court records.

With the limited statewide name-based check, old arrests without a disposition won't turn up, and some counties had spotty records on entering data into the system.

After a private investigator tipped off Irvington Community School in 2006, Warner resigned and the state took away his license.

"We've deepened our interview and reference checks," said Timothy Ehrgott, the school's president. "We learned our lesson."

Outside Indiana, that task often is handled by state officials rather than local schools. Utah and Maine require their state police agencies to keep names of educators in an electronic system that alerts officials when a teacher is arrested.

A coalition of state governments that maintains a national database of teacher misconduct also recommends more stringent checks.

The National Association of State Directors of Teacher Education and Certification urges states to use state and FBI checks for all new teachers, and every five years for all educators, director Roy Einreinhofer said.

Indiana does neither.

A few school districts feel so strongly that Indiana's system is too weak that they pay for national searches on their own.

"We don't think it goes deep enough into data," said John Ellis, director of the state superintendents' association. "The thing that frustrates school officials is there's too many holes in the system."

No one tells the state

School drug arrest details not shared, so teacher kept license

When police arrived at School 83 in Indianapolis one evening in May 2005, according to their report, a teacher told them he was high on marijuana.

They asked him whether he had drugs on him, the report said, and he said they were in his car. Officers searched the car, found marijuana and arrested the teacher, Eric J. Potthast, on charges of possession of marijuana and paraphernalia.

Potthast took a deal from the court, agreeing to pay a fee, admit his guilt and attend behavior-modification classes. After he did so, the charges were dropped.

Indiana, unlike other states, does not require schools and police to report most teacher misconduct to state officials.

So Indianapolis Public Schools did not. Potthast resigned a few months later.

Potthast disclosed the misdemeanor on his next application for a teaching license. But what he didn't say and what state officials don't appear to have known was that the incident happened at a school, an offense that cost at least one other Indiana teacher his license.

So Potthast's license was renewed, despite the drugs he brought to school. That left it up to a school district to decide whether to put him in a classroom.

He was rehired the next year by IPS, which struggles to find teachers and substitutes to fill classrooms when teachers quit. He was fired last month for failing to keep his teaching license up to date.

"Was it wise to hire him?" IPS spokeswoman Kim L. Hooper said. "On behalf of the district, I would say no. But I know we also struggle to find subs in this district."

Prosecutors and superintendents must tell the state about misbehaving teachers only if they are convicted of a short list of felonies: kidnapping, dealing drugs or sex crimes against children.

Even those cases can stay off the state's radar if there's no conviction or the teacher pleads guilty to lesser charges. If a teacher is arrested on a charge of murder, raping an adult, assault, possessing child pornography or most other crimes, no one is required to tell state education officials.

"Ideally we would want to be notified anytime anybody holding a teacher license gets arrested," said Kevin McDowell, general counsel for the Indiana Department of Education. "Some states do that."

Indiana teachers who are arrested for many crimes must report a conviction to their school district, but the districts have no obligation to tell anyone else.

In other states, teachers are required to report their own arrests to the state, and police must tell education officials when a teacher commits a crime. Some hire teams of investigators that do nothing but look into teacher misconduct.

The Indiana Department of Education relies on calls from parents reading newspaper articles and a service that reviews newspapers for arrests of teachers.

If there's no article, the state never knows.

Quiet resignations

School let teacher with past of intimidation quit, get another job

Lawrence Central High School history teacher Charles E. Stallworth's dispute with one boy turned ugly three years ago at a Northside movie theater where the boy worked.

The theater manager called police after the teen said his teacher had come in, threatened him and then made a phone call.

Worried for the boy's safety, the manager hid the boy in an office. On video, they watched as Stallworth met two men who arrived at the theater and handed them money, according to a probable cause affidavit. Those men asked other employees where they could find the boy and then staked out the employee entrance, the affidavit said.

When police arrived, they ordered the two men to leave and questioned Stallworth about the incident. Despite the video evidence, he said he made no phone calls at the theater and talked to no one while he was there, the court records said.

Stallworth pleaded guilty to lying to police about the incident, but a felony intimidation charge was dropped. He quietly retired.

It wasn't the first time he had been accused of intimidating students. He was suspended for two days in 2001 after the district substantiated a girl's claim that he hit her on the back so hard he left a red mark.

"Your behavior on November 3, 2000, is not acceptable and you are hereby reprimanded for your action," an administrator wrote to him. "In addition, this incident seems to be one in a long line of other incidents of an intimidating nature towards students."

In a statement this past week, Lawrence Township Schools said Stallworth had planned to fight efforts to fire him and that an agreement letting him retire got him out of the classroom and prevented him from suing the district or the student.

Stallworth moved to Alaska and got a teaching job in Anchorage.

Like the other teachers highlighted here, Stallworth could not be reached or did not return messages left at phone numbers listed in court documents or public directories.

State officials said Lawrence Township Schools officials recommended against revoking Stallworth's license because the misdemeanor was "unrelated" to his teaching responsibilities. That and his retirement allowed him to keep his license.

That doesn't seem right to Marcia Riley, whose son Stallworth threatened. She wishes the district had fired him and the state taken away his teaching license. The whole situation was "swept under the rug," she said.

Riley, whose son is now a Marine serving in Iraq, said the incident at the movie theater shattered her trust in teachers.

"They're supposed to protect your children," she said. "In fact, he was putting my child in harm's way intentionally."

When school districts let teachers resign, it prevents the public from seeing records of their misconduct, which must be released if they are fired. And it becomes easier to get another teaching job if the teacher doesn't have to disclose a dismissal.

Such outcomes happen in cases more serious than Stallworth's, too. Bob James, an Indianapolis attorney, said he has handled three or four cases where school districts paid settlements to children victimized by teachers but no charges were filed, no licensing action was taken and teachers quietly quit.

He could not reveal names of teachers or districts, he said, because the settlement agreements included confidentiality clauses.

That kind of secrecy is why districts shouldn't have the last word in deciding to let teachers resign when they face termination, said Edward Eiler, a state Board of Education member and superintendent of Lafayette Schools. Eiler suggests that Indiana districts be required to report such cases for further investigation, as required in other states.

Even the risk of costly legal bills or unseemly public disputes should not prevent districts from firing teachers whose conduct merits dismissal, said Martha McCarthy, an Indiana University professor who specializes in education law.

"A lot of school leaders will take the path of least resistance," she said, "and the path of least resistance is to counsel the employee to resign."

Prospects for changes

Many support stronger system, but past reform tries didn't work

Bills have been introduced in the state legislature the past several years to make changes to the teacher licensing system, but none has been successful.

Those bills, which proposed requiring FBI background checks or ordering courts to tell state education officials about criminal teachers, appear to have become ensnared in other issues or bogged down.

The state's top educator thinks Indiana does a good job overall protecting children, but she said she'd like to see changes to the law to allow her department to issue formal public reprimands and to require courts or police to report when teachers break any law.

Superintendent of Public Instruction Suellen Reed said the state opted not to do FBI checks years ago because of the expense and difficulty of getting usable fingerprints they require.

"The overall system is protecting our children," she said. "The people that get in trouble haven't been in trouble before usually when we find them. It screens out the obvious people. That's what we want."

The state's teachers union backs strengthening background checks, adding more crimes to the list of those reported to the state and requiring school districts to fire teachers who have hurt children. The organizations representing superintendents and school boards largely agree.

"The system could be improved if the initial background check included the national databases and sex offender registries," said Dan Clark, deputy director of the Indiana State Teachers Association.

But even the groups that support strengthening Indiana's ability to screen out problem teachers want to include limits to protect teachers' rights or want to preserve local school boards' abilities to make their own decisions.

Richard Wood, the Democratic candidate for state superintendent of public instruction and a former superintendent, argues that it's largely an issue for local school boards.

"You just have to deal with those situations on a case-by-case basis," he said. "I'm not advocating any change. I would not initiate anything to make the process more lenient or anything to make it more stringent. The law we have in place is working at present."

State Rep. Robert Behning, R-Indianapolis, disagrees. His constituents, he said, would blame him just as much as the School Board if a felon ended up in a classroom.

Behning, the ranking Republican on the House Education Committee, said he was interested in proposing a bill this legislative session that would require FBI background checks for educators.

"The state definitely should have a role in it," he said. "I'm not an advocate of big government, but I believe it is the responsibility of this state. . . . I do believe that we've tried to do what was right, but I don't believe we've gone far enough."


Posted by Pebi Services President Tyra Hearns

Bucknell University contemplates instituting faculty background investigations

By Lily Beauvilliers
The Bucknellian

The University is considering conducting background checks on finalists for faculty positions.

Human Resources (HR) suggested the move after examining trends in peer schools, said Marcia Hoffman, executive director of Human Resources.

Four checks are being considered: criminal background, national sex offender registry, education credential and employment verification.
The University has been conducting background checks on all staff since April 2001 and began a pilot program testing senior staff, including the new chief information officer, provost and dean of students, in April 2007.

“We were trying it out on them,” Hoffman said.

The process to implement faculty checks was halted after HR spoke with the Faculty and Academic Personnel Committee (FAPC) last spring.

“Members of our committee are concerned that background checks are expensive, and it seems unlikely that they will do much to make Bucknell safer,” said Geoff Schneider, associate professor of economics and chair of FAPC, in an e-mail.

Schneider also raised concerns that the University couldn’t compete with other employers if it began background checks.

“Many faculty care very deeply about academic and personal freedom, so we are concerned that we might turn off the best applicants ... by instituting an overly intrusive background check policy,” he said.

Currently, the University does not officially verify an applicants’ education before offering employment.

A search committee consisting of members of the department and someone of a different ethnicity or gender reviews the applications, Hoffman said.

The committee writes a “short list” approved by the Affirmative Action Officer Linda Bennett and deans.

These applicants are interviewed, and a recommendation is made.

“The hiring official does talk to references. Those conversations check the academic credentials, but there is no official check,” said Tom Evelyn, director of media relations.

Background checks would be conducted after an applicant is already chosen. “If discrepancies arise in the background check reports, HR would provide a copy of the report to the individual, and then notify the search committee chair the respective dean, and the provost for their consideration and deliberation,” Hoffman said.

The University considers the nature of the convictions, how many there have been, the date and how a conviction impacts the duties of a position.

“You might find the time served was sufficient punishment, but might also look into their background to see if there is a larger issue,” University General Counsel Wayne Bromfield said.

All convictions would not be treated equally.

“If we had someone that came up in the National Sex Offender registry, we would not put them on our campus. Minor traffic violations? Not a major consideration,” Hoffman said.

Before background checks are implemented, HR and FAPC will clarify language added to the background check policy and faculty application.

“It is likely that this issue will eventually come before the full faculty as a committee report,” Schneider said.

Current chair of the faculty Tony Massoud, associate professor of political science, declined to comment due to lack of information.

Martin Ligare, associate professor of physics and former chair of the faculty, expressed his concern over the possibility of background checks.“Broadly targeted background checks on a routine basis are antithetical to the ideals of an academic institution,” he said.

According to Ligare, the University should not act as an arm of the law.

“It’s not our job to punish people,” he said.

Andrea Stevenson Sanjian, associate professor of political science, feels faculty should be informed about the decision process.

“I am generally uncomfortable with [faculty background checks] so far, and nobody has made any effort to change this. And I haven’t talked to anyone else who thinks this is a great idea either,” she said.

Hoffman is confident background checks will be conducted soon.

“We are hopeful that, with the additional language, the FAPC will support this effort, and that a more formal approval process will not be necessary,” she said.

The University views background checks as part of a responsible hiring process and a common trend among our peer schools.

“The basis for all of this is to give us all the information possible, so we can make a better decision before hiring,” Evelyn said.

Posted by Pebi Services President Tyra Hearns

Police say background investigation was complete on arrested California 911 operator

Lissa Marie Domanic, 42, of Yorba Linda, seen in booking photo after her arrest, is a civilian employee of the Orange County Sheriff's Department who has been indicted on two felony charges. She has been placed on administrative leave pending a disciplinary review.

By Stuart Pfeifer
Los Angeles Times

A civilian employee of the Orange County Sheriff's Department who allegedly has ties to a white supremacist gang has been indicted on charges of soliciting someone to commit a violent crime and providing confidential police records to unauthorized people, officials said Thursday.

Lissa Marie Domanic, 42, was working as an office specialist and 911 dispatcher when she allegedly asked someone to assault an Orange County jail inmate, said sheriff's spokesman Jim Amormino.


She also allegedly used department computers to access confidential records that she forwarded to unauthorized people, Amormino said.

A grand jury indicted Domanic on the felony charges earlier this week, and she is awaiting arraignment in Orange County Superior Court.

Domanic, who has worked for the Sheriff's Department for about 19 months, has been placed on administrative leave pending a disciplinary review, Amormino said.


"We do a thorough background investigation, and nothing came up in her background," he said. "Sometimes people are able to conceal things they are involved in."

Sheriff's investigators began looking at Domanic in May after receiving a tip about her from another law enforcement agency, Amormino said.

Among the things she is accused of doing is asking one inmate to assault another inmate and using department records to identify the housing location of the intended victim, Amormino said. The assault did not occur, he said.

When sheriff's investigators arrested Domanic at her Yorba Linda home earlier this week, she allegedly was under the influence of a controlled substance and in possession of methamphetamine, Amormino said.


Posted by Pebi Services President Tyra Hearns

Tyra Hearns points out the necessity of background investigations is stronger now more than ever

The purpose of personal background checks is to get a feel for the applicant’s character. Personal and professional references are a good starting point, however, experts in the investigative field caution employers on using this method solely. Prospective employees are obviously going to give references of people whom they trust will provide a good character reference for them. Those references may not necessarily be fabricating information regarding the applicant; they simply may not know pertinent information about him or her.
Another method employer’s use is obtaining a credit report on the prospective employee. While privacy advocates argue the necessity in reviewing credit reports, many employers find them to be full of important information. An employer can determine what types of credit accounts the applicant has open and their history of paying bills on time. For some employers, this is a good indicator of how responsible of an employee he or she will be. Employers also may draw a correlation between credit history, job performance and employee retention. Though these conclusions are heatedly debated, according to the Fair Credit Reporting Act, employers do have the right to investigate much of a person’s credit history as a pre-employment tool.
Credit reports also contain pertinent job and address information. Some employers and private investigation firms use credit reports as a means of cross-referencing information supplied on the employment application. Though credit reports contain much needed personal information, they should be used in conjunction with other personal background check methods in order to have a well-rounded view of the applicant’s character and ability to perform the job duties.
This type of consumer report also contains information that may be valuable, although legally questionable, to the employer. Age and marital status are data that are often reported. Employers should already be familiar with privacy and equal opportunity legislation and be careful not to discriminate on the basis of these facts. The purpose of performing personal background checks is to ensure the safety and security of the company and violating Federal laws is out of the question.
Identity theft, criminal prosecutions, outstanding debt and bankruptcies are all examples of information that can be acquired through a personal background check. As an employer, it is your responsibility to only gather what information you need; information gathered should be directly related to the safety and quality of the company and more specifically, the job performed. For example, if a company needs to hire a receptionist, it might not be necessary to know whether or not he or she has filed bankruptcy recently. Other than using that as a tool to judge character, some information gathered through personal background checks may not be relevant to the position.
If an employer should require a more extensive background check, things such as who someone has dated, use of alcohol or drugs or personal lifestyle can also be obtained. Usually when a firm investigates a person’s background, they may interview neighbors, friends, associated, former co-workers and others to gain a picture of the person as a whole. Some of the information may be of interest to the employer and some may be irrelevant. It is important when hiring an investigator, to let them know specific information you are looking for.
When investigating a prospective employee’s background, it is vitally important to be honest about your intentions. Federal law requires employers to provide separate consent forms for each type of investigation to be conducted; it is also good business practice to be forthcoming about these matters. Background checks on employee’s can save companies money by avoiding potential lawsuits, theft, and costly employee retention. It is usually best to outsource the work to a private firm, if the information is very detailed. For some employers, searching at the local or state level is much more cost-effective and may produce the results they need without outsourcing.

Posted by Pebi Services President Tyra Hearns

Some school bus drivers with criminal records in New Jersey are working

By Larry Higgs and Paul D'Ambrosio
Gannett New Jersey

Dozens of school bus drivers with criminal convictions transport children to class each day, many with the state's approval, a Gannett New Jersey investigation has found.

Offenses for the persons convicted range from manslaughter to drug distribution to theft.

Of the 35 drivers found by Gannett New Jersey, three have had their bus driving endorsements revoked by the state Department of Education after the Press forwarded its list to authorities.

None of the banned drivers worked in Middlesex, Monmouth or Ocean counties.

The three drivers include a man convicted of manslaughter and two women convicted of endangering the welfare of a child.

The gap in background investigations for school bus employees is so wide that one man with two prior drug convictions was hired as a bus aide by a Keansburg company to transport Middletown students. State officials said they were never told about the hire, and, as a result, no background check was ever run.

The aide, Parrish L. Jones, is now serving a 10-year prison term for giving a near-fatal dose of methadone to a 15-year-old on a school bus in 2006.

Of the 32 remaining bus drivers whose permits were not terminated because of prior convictions, state officials said none had offenses that would warrant taking them off school buses. The convictions included simple assault, gambling, weapons possession and official misconduct, according to a review of state court records.

Still, state education officials said that those with serious offenses shouldn't have escaped detection and that measures are being taken to close the loopholes that let Jones and others get on a school bus.

"The safety and security of our children are DOE's highest priorities, which is why we do these background checks in the first place," said Kathryn Forsyth, Department of Education spokeswoman. "It is simply unacceptable to us to have anyone slip through the cracks, and when we find that someone has, we move quickly to make sure they are disqualified and fired."

Gannett New Jersey also found that 148 convicts received school bus driver licenses after their convictions, but that their permits have since expired, according to a review of bus drivers and state criminal court records for the last 15 years.

The drivers worked for both private bus companies and school districts that operated their own bus service.

State education officials, who are required by law to keep certain criminals from driving school children, said that the three terminated bus drivers fell through the cracks because of changes in the state's fingerprinting system.

"In these instances, we are obligated to take action," said Carl Carabelli, manager of the criminal history review unit for the education department. "Disqualification notices went out on Aug. 21, which said they are disqualified (from school employment) and should be terminated, and we sent notices to MVC (Motor Vehicle Commission) to revoke their school bus endorsement."

School bus drivers are supposed to be fingerprinted and go through criminal background checks every two years, when they renew their bus driver's license. But those safeguards, designed to reassure parents, don't always work, said Dr. Alan Ross, founder of the National Coalition for School Bus Safety, Connecticut.

Federal law prohibits individuals from driving a school bus who have been convicted of first- or second-degree crimes, such as murder and aggravated assault, and some third-degree theft offenses.

Middletown school bus aide Jones is a recent example of how a slip-up can cause a near death. Jones had two prior drug convictions in Monmouth County, but got a job as an aide for the Aberdeen-based Milu Bus Service.

Jones, 37, of Keansburg, was convicted of drug distribution in Monmouth County in 1992 and again in 1996. He was given a 364-day jail term in 1992 and a three-year prison sentence in 1996, according to public records.

Jones pleaded guilty to giving methadone a synthetic narcotic to a 15-year-old Middletown North High School student in October 2006. The boy nearly died from the overdose. Jones was sentenced last June to five to 10 years in prison.

Jones was hired for school employment despite his two prior drug convictions because his name was never submitted for a background investigation to the state by the bus company, Forsyth said. An education department audit revealed that the company also failed to submit other employees' names for background checks, she said.

"His name didn't go through the system. They were cited for noncompliance. They have to perform a corrective action plan," she said.

Education officials are putting together administrative procedures to fine any bus company that fails to submit workers names for background checks, Forsyth said.

"It is a shame that what happened in Middletown happened. I thank God the child was okay, it's one heck of an awakening for the township," said Maria Wheaton, parent of a student who graduated from Middletown North High School last year.

While Wheaton said she was satisfied with how the district handled the situation, she said she supports a bill introduced by state Sens. Loretta Weinberg, D-Bergen, Barbara Buono, D-Middlesex, and Shirley Turner, D-Mercer.

The bill would require more frequent fingerprinting of all school employees and mandate that those fingerprints are kept on file. In June, it was approved by the Senate education committee and is waiting to be posted for a vote by the full Senate.

"That bill is a great idea, it should pass with flying colors," Wheaton said. "I think that any adult who works with school age children should definitely go through a thorough background check."

The three school bus drivers state officials said were disqualified are:

Cora Outlaw, 42, Newark, convicted of endangering the welfare of a child and sentenced to three years in prison in 1992. She was last approved for school employment in May 2007 in Essex County.

State education department officials said they initially found no disqualifying crimes on her record. Her endangerment conviction has since been verified, disqualifying her from driving a school bus.

Marba L. Morris, 50, Teaneck, was convicted of endangering the welfare of a child and placed on two years' probation 1999. She was last approved for school employment in 2005 in Bergen County.

Bobby G. Allen, 54, of Vineland, convicted of manslaughter in 1992, was sentenced to 270 days in jail and four years' probation. He was approved for school employment in August 2006 in Vineland. Education department officials said the conviction wasn't on his record. After a new review of records, he was disqualified from school employment.

None of the drivers could be reached for comment.

The drivers can challenge the action by filing an administrative appeal with the department within 30 days, said Carabelli, of the education department's enforcement bureau. None has filed an appeal as of Thursday, Sept. 11.

How did those three drivers and others make it through the system?

In several cases, individuals uncovered by Gannett New Jersey slipped through the criminal background safety net because their fingerprints weren't kept on file by the state Bureau of Identification, Carabelli said.

In 12 other cases reviewed, the crimes weren't considered by the department to be disqualifying offense at the time they were convicted, Carabelli said.

All first- and second-degree offenses, such as homicides and major drug crimes, are disqualifying. A theft charge depends on the severity and the value of what was taken, Carabelli said. Some third-degree theft offenses also are considered disqualifying offenses, he said.

State officials determined that 10 drivers on the Gannett New Jersey's list would keep their license because the offenses they were convicted of weren't disqualifying under the law. They included weapons possession, interfering with custody of a child and witness tampering.

Four drivers on the list were convicted of lower offenses, such as disorderly persons and drug possession, which were not considered a disqualification at that time of arrest. But such offenses would bar them from obtaining a school bus driver's license now, Carabelli said.

The state criminal history review unit handles 70,000 background checks a year for all school employees and disqualifies an average of about 1 percent, Carabelli said. There are 25,000 school bus drivers authorized to drive students in the state, he said.

One problem identifying drivers with records is that until February 2003, the state Bureau of Identification didn't retain the physical fingerprints from background checks, said Forsyth, the spokeswoman for the education department.

"If they committed a crime, we didn't know unless we found out anecdotally or through the newspapers or if the police or prosecutor let us know a crime was committed," Forsyth said.

That database is "much more complete" and state education officials will know immediately if a bus driver or school employee is convicted or has a record, she said.

Legislation in the state Senate would require all school employees and applicants to undergo fingerprinting and criminal background checks every two years.

The bill, S110, also would require the education department and state Department of Labor and Workforce Development, which tracks individual wage data, to compare databases to determine if a school employee has not undergone a criminal background check, or has been disqualified yet still works with students.

"The (education) department not only strongly supports this bill, we helped write it," Forsyth said. "As the people who administer the system, we knew where the problems were and what had to be addressed legislatively. We think this bill will significantly tighten the safety net."

"It expands our ability to make sure people don't fall through the cracks," Forsyth said. "All these pieces are filling holes."

Posted by Pebi Services President Tyra Hearns

Ohio background investigations arriving after school has started

By LeeAnn Moore

Results of Ohio criminal background investigations on teachers, administrators, other school employees and even some volunteers will continue to come in over the next few months.

Sept. 5 was the deadline for most to have fingerprints turned into the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Ohio Attorney General's Bureau of Criminal Identification and Investigation (BCI).

"We believe that all of our employees have done that," said David Branch, Franklin Local School District superintendent. "However, we do not have all of the results because there is a rather large backlog at BCI in processing. Therefore, we do not have all the results of all the required testing, but we have a lot of it back."

Jim Heagen, superintendent of East Muskingum Local School District, said 100 percent of those in his district who needed to have prints submitted by Sept. 5 did so.

"The BCI/FBI system is inundated with all these requests. Now even veteran employees have to have it done," Heagen said. "They're inundated with all these people who had to have it submitted by Sept. 5. We're in the same boat as everyone else. 100 percent of our people have submitted but we're waiting on returns. As far as I know, we are following the law."

The Ohio Department of Education (ODE) began requiring applicants seeking any license or permit to have an Ohio criminal background investigation and an FBI criminal background check completed. The rule became effective Nov. 14, 2007 to comply with House Bill 190.

House Bill 79, which went into effect March 2007, requires those teaching with a professional teaching certificate to have a background investigation every five years on a date set by the state board of education. The first date established to have the checks completed by was Sept. 5.

"However, it's not a deadline for all prints as this deadline is only for teachers who teach under a permanent teaching certificate or an eight-year teaching certificate. Many teachers teach under a five-year teaching license. This Sept. 5 deadline doesn't apply to them. They receive background checks when the renew their license every five years," said Karla Warren, ODE press secretary.

Kevin Appleman, coordinator of operations and student services for Zanesville City Schools, said the process went smoothly the first time around.

Those needing to submit prints within Zanesville City started submitting them April 28 and they were all in by May 28. Appleman said most of the results are in and OK.

"Personally, I like it, because I think as a father myself who has a child in school, I appreciate it as a parent and as a person who facilitates it. I like it and I'm sure Mr. (Superintendent Terry) Martin does too because it protects everybody, our teachers, students, parents, administration, everybody," he said. "I don't think it's a bad thing at all. It's a positive."

In most cases, prints are submitted at the districts' administrative offices using WebCheck, an Internet-based program used for conducting fingerprint-based civilian background checks developed by BCI.

"ODE has been communicating aggressively with districts and with educators who hold eight-year, permanent or permanent non-tax certificates. They have been notified that those certificates would be inactivated if they did not submit fingerprints for mandated BCI and FBI background checks by Sept. 5, 2008," Warren said.

Posted by Pebi Services President Tyra Hearns

Tennessee Highway Patrol Trooper in unathorized background investigation scandal

By Brad Schrades
The Tennessean
Long before he was accused of running unauthorized background investigations on private citizens, a joke made its way around the Tennessee Highway Patrol about Ronnie Shirley.He could parachute over the old Soviet Union, the joke went, and if you telephoned the Kremlin an hour later, Shirley would have schmoozed his way so far within the corridors of the communist state, you'd hear his West Tennessee drawl on the other end of the line.

The joke illuminates a truth about Shirley, a 6-foot-4 trooper full of charm and backslapping political skill, but it also reflects a long-held belief about what it takes to get ahead in the THP: Politics and cozying up to the powerful too often determine the course of a trooper's career."He makes friends," said former THP Lt. Col. Steve Browder, who is from McNairy County, where Shirley grew up, and helped Shirley get hired as a trooper in the late 1980s."He's kind of a self-serving guy. Whoever is in charge, he will find a place at the table."Browder said he's concerned the latest allegations surrounding Shirley — that he ran unauthorized background checks through a criminal justice database on up to 182 Tennesseans — give a black eye to the state's other troopers.

For years, many have said Shirley, 42, could one day be commander of the patrol because of his skill in courting those in high places in state government.He has enough political clout to land plum assignments in the patrol: serving on Republican Gov. Don Sundquist's security detail, and later serving as bodyguard for House Speaker Jimmy Naifeh at the 2004 Democratic National Convention in Boston.It was shortly after the Boston trip that news surfaced that Shirley had fixed a speeding ticket for then-Deputy Gov. Dave Cooley — at the time, the most powerful person in Democratic Gov. Phil Bredesen's administration. It later came out that the patrol's leadership had concocted a fake punishment for Shirley to throw off the press and public.Could be a politician.

Whenever Shirley came into General Sessions Court Judge Paul Simpson's courtroom, he was polite and as straight as an arrow, the former judge recalled."It really surprises me he's in a controversy," said Simpson, contacted by phone in Denver, where he was a delegate to the Democratic National Convention. "I think I know him, I don't think he'd ever do anything criminal. I think he's a law-abiding officer; he's been ever since I've known him."A longtime Democrat and Selmer's current vice mayor, Simpson was one of the people Shirley listed as a reference on his job application with the Highway Patrol. Simpson said Shirley is still a friend, and he would have recommended him without any hesitation."He wants to help everybody," said Bryan Farmer, a former trooper from East Tennessee. "In my 25 years in the Highway Patrol, sometimes you have to say, 'No, I can't help someone.' I don't know that Ronnie has the ability to do that." Farmer said he's surprised by the scandals Shirley has been connected with. If Shirley hadn't been in a THP uniform, Farmer said, with his personality, he'd easily be running for political office — with success.His willingness to help may include a deputy governor with a speeding ticket or a trooper who needs help moving furniture on the weekend, Farmer said. "There's consistently temptations to do things around the general orders" — the THP's internal rulebook —"or around the law because you are in a higher rank," Farmer said. "You just have to be able to say no. You never know a man until you work with him," Farmer said. "That's just something I've always lived by and come to realize. If you work with someone on a day-to-day basis you get to know the ins and outs and how he operates."

The THP leadership has given Shirley good marks on his performance evaluations, including one that was completed more than a month after the unauthorized background checks were reported to the THP.On July 30 — almost a month into the criminal investigation into allegations against Shirley — his direct supervisor, Maj. J.R. Perry, signed Shirley's annual performance review, giving him "exceptional" ratings across the board, the highest possible marks.State Safety Commissioner Dave Mitchell and THP Col. Mike Walker signed the review the same day, approving the evaluation.Walker on Friday said he didn't conduct the evaluation, which is based on the entire year's performance."We don't base it on what's happening right at that time," he said. "You look at the year as a whole. I didn't sign his evaluation. I was the reviewer on it. I was not the evaluator. I simply read it and sign off on it."Shirley's full-time posting is another plum assignment — serving as the Safety Department's liaison to the Tennessee Emergency Management Agency, a position he's held for about two years.Shirley, is on administrative leave pending the outcome of the criminal investigation

Posted by Pebi Services President Tyra Hearns

Wisconsin town enforces new background investigation policy

By Brad Bryan
Anyone wishing to work for the town of West Salem, even on a volunteer basis, must now consent to a full background investigation.That decision comes after last week’s West Salem Village Board meeting at which trustees adopted village ordinance No. 427. No one attended a public hearing regarding the ordinance, held prior to the regular meeting on Aug. 5.

Language in the ordinance states: “Submission of an application for employment, paid or unpaid, appointed positions with the village, volunteer positions, all liquor license applications and/or renewals shall constitute consent to a background investigation (including a criminal history and traffic history) by the village.”

In an interview conducted prior to the meeting, Village Administrator Teresa Schnitzler said the village has always done full background checks in such instances and the requirement to adopt the ordinance came from the Crime Information Bureau, which the city uses to conduct background checks.

She added that past violations turned up by background investigations aren’t an automatic denial in all instances.

The motion to pass the ordinance was approved by a vote of six to one, with Trustee J. Terry Hanson dissenting.

Hanson questioned the cost to enact the ordinance. No estimate was provided at the meeting. Schnitzler said the cost would be considered in the upcoming budget.

“We have ideas on how to fund it,” Schnitzler said.

“I’m going to vote against this because I’d like to see how it’s funded,” Hanson said.

“We don’t have a choice, Terry,” Schnitzler said. “We need this ordinance to conduct the background investigations.”

West Salem Police Chief Charles Ashbeck said the ordinance was necessary to comply with existing Crime Information Bureau policy.

Posted by Pebi Services President Tyra Hearns

Residents of New Hampshire town reject police chief candidate over background investigation results

By PAT GROSSMITH
New Hampshire Union Leader

Nearly 200 citizens have signed a petition urging selectmen not to hire a retired Hillsborough County deputy, who was accused of assaulting his wife, as the town's police chief.

The petition, signed by 183 residents, states:

"We the undersigned citizens of Salisbury urge the Selectmen not to hire Frank Jones as Chief of Police of Salisbury. If Mr. Jones has been sworn in as Chief we ask that you terminate his employment and begin a search for an appropriate candidate."

Former selectman Ken Ross-Raymond dropped off the petition this morning to town officials. He said the 183 signatures represent about 95 percent of those asked to sign the petition.

Messages left by UnionLeader.com for Jones and town selectmen concerning the petition were not immediately returned.

Jones, 49, of Bow, who has been in law enforcement for 26 years, was offered the job on July 23, pending a background check and other conditions.

The next day he was arrested in Meredith on a simple assault charge accusing him of grabbing his wife's arm. A judge dismissed the charge last week.

The dismissal came after Priscilla Jones gave police a "revised" statement in which she denied her husband assaulted her and maintained her son called police to get even with Jones who, years earlier, made a 911 call that ended with the son's arrest in Bow. The son was never convicted.

Jones was not among the original police chief candidates interviewed by selectmen and a committee. He submitted an application before the deadline and was interviewed separately.

The committee recommended the town hire part-time officer Daniel Ball, who is also a full-time officer with the Boscawen Police Department. Selectmen instead offered Jones the job.

UnionLeader.com filed a Right-To-Know request with the Merrimack County Sheriff's Office for documents related to the selection of the police chief. The matter was referred to the Merrimack County Attorney's Office which released about 30 documents.

Among them was an April 16, 2008 letter Capt. Craig Saltmarsh of the Merrimack County Sheriff's Department sent to selectmen. In it, Ball was recommended as the top pick for police chief.

No letter of recommendation regarding Jones is among documents released by the county attorney.

Margaret I. Warren, administrative assistant to the selectman, sent a letter dated July 3 to Saltmarsh indicating town officials marked his July 2 letter concerning the "chief of police background investigation" as "confidential for our files."

A second letter to Saltmarsh dated July 22 informed him that a report from Merrimack County Deputy Paul Montray on the background investigation of Jones was also marked confidential.

Warren's letters requested Saltmarsh mark his file copies of both pieces of correspondence as confidential as well.

Last week, selectmen said they would be meeting with town counsel before making any decision on the job offer to Jones.


Posted by Pebi Services President Tyra Hearns

Border Patrol Training Academy criticized by Union for background investigation flaws

By Arthur H. Rotstein
Associated Press

The Border Patrol agents' union is criticizing hiring and training shortcuts they say the agency is making as it seeks to double in size before President Bush leaves office.

The union says the Border Patrol has dropped minimum educational requirements and is deferring background investigations for new hires, among other changes they say are hurting the agency.

The National Border Patrol Council said in a report released June 24 that the patrol recently dropped educational requirements that called for applicants to have at least a high school diploma or a high school equivalency certificate.
"This relaxation of standards is a matter of concern," the report said.

President Bush announced a crash hiring program to add 6,000 more Border Patrol agents in 2006, with the goal of bringing the number of sworn agents to 18,000 by the end of this year.

The council's report noted that there was anecdotal and other evidence suggesting a small percentage of new hires had only middle-school reading comprehension and writing abilities.

It deplored that as "completely unacceptable," particularly where documents that are poorly written could end up "in miscommunication of critical information and botched prosecutions."

Border Patrol spokesman Lloyd Easterling in Washington said the agency takes agents' concerns seriously, but also said neither criticism is a major issue and suggested that neither was correct.

He said the Border Patrol never has had a high school diploma or equivalency requirement. The requirement was purposely taken out after World War I to allow returning soldiers to apply, he said.

He said only 32 of more than 16,000 agents currently do not have a high school diploma or its equivalent, while nearly 12,000 have taken some college courses or graduated, he said.

T.J. Bonner, president of the union, said the agency's academy in Artesia, N.M. is no longer testing candidates' writing skills.

"We have had some of the instructors share some of the work product, some of the memos that new recruits have given; it's appalling," Bonner said. "They can't put a coherent sentence together and we say we're going to rely on this individual to write an arrest report and rely on that for a prosecution? Good luck."

Easterling said recruits go through the academy to learn law enforcement, physical, report-writing and other techniques. "More times than not they're inexperienced," he said.

"Report writing, sign-cutting, things like that, those are things they're going to learn in the field with job experience" and from senior agents.

The council also took the agency to task for deferring background investigations of applicants and settling for a criminal history check and polygraph.

Easterling also said that detailed background investigations are begun before candidate agents begin going through the academy.

The union report said thorough background investigation of new hires' character and history should be done before hiring.

"This is usually one of the first areas where shortcuts are taken when law enforcement agencies undergo rapid expansion," the report said. "Unfortunately, the Border Patrol has also succumbed to that pressure."

The report also said the agency has been using contractors to do the reviews for the past decade, rather than FBI special agents, leading to some corrupt agents sipping into the ranks.

Easterling defended the process and the contractors. He said the initial background investigations for the Border Patrol are the same as for any national law enforcement candidate. Even more detailed checks are done as the agent goes through the academy.

"You never can eliminate the possibility of error in any portion of the employment process," Easterling said, acknowledging that a few bad apples have made it through the academy and into the field before being discovered.

Bonner also said that several of the people involved in gathering information for the report had "a far-reaching discussion" with Border Patrol Chief David Aguilar in March.

"He promised to look into some of the concerns we brought up," Bonner said.

Posted by Pebi Services President Tyra Hearns

Serious Problems found in police applicants background investigation

By Mary Beth Sheridan
Washington Post Staff Writer

One was arrested as a teenager for armed robbery. Another was allegedly involved in an arson. A third admitted having sold marijuana.

The 15 recruits dismissed by the U.S. Capitol Police this week had some serious problems in their backgrounds, according to new details provided by police and congressional sources. The fact that the recruits were hired anyway, and only removed after they had completed several weeks of training, has roiled the force and led to congressional inquiries.

The recruits are contesting their dismissals, a congressional source said. Some are maintaining they only committed minor offenses, such as stealing a street sign while attending college. Officials have said they will fire recruits who do not resign or appeal.

Capitol Police have yet to explain how the recruits could have been hired and sent to a training academy in Georgia despite failing employment criteria such as background investigations and psychological exams. The reasons for the lapse are under investigation.

The U.S. Capitol Police labor committee was so upset by the revelations that it debated holding a no-confidence vote Thursday night on Chief Phillip D. Morse. The committee, part of the Fraternal Order of Police, decided to hold off and instead conduct a poll during the next week on officers' opinions of the chief. The recruits are not union members.

"Clearly, something went wrong when a police department doesn't know about possible felony violations in someone they just hired," said Michael J. Detorie, an officer who brought up the no-confidence motion. He said that while the chief had been strict about holding veteran officers accountable for mistakes, he "has yet to acknowledge an error or accept any responsibility. . . . It just rubs everybody the wrong way."

Morse said in a statement that he valued his relationship with the labor committee's chairman, Matt Tighe. "I find him to be someone I can work with to overcome challenges in order to meet our shared goal of moving the U.S. Capitol Police forward and ensuring the best for our officers," Morse said, adding that he planned to meet soon with the union leader.

Legislators have expressed dismay over the hiring blunder, and the Senate Rules Committee has scheduled a hearing next month to examine the case. But key lawmakers and congressional staff appeared to still have confidence in Morse.

"It seems they're taking appropriate actions to deal with the mess-up," said Rep. Michael E. Capuano (D-Mass.), chairman of the House subcommittee on Capitol security, which has held two closed-door sessions on the issue.

Terrance W. Gainer, the Senate sergeant-at-arms, who helps oversee the Capitol Police, said Morse is "a dedicated professional."

"He loves the department, and he's trying to do the right thing," said Gainer, who once led the force.

The Capitol Police human-resources director, Jennifer McCarthy, has been put on administrative leave for her part in the hirings. While she had been under pressure to resign, she apparently has not done so.

Capitol Police have declined to give details about what disqualified the recruits, but according to police and congressional sources, some had committed serious offenses. One recruit, for example, was arrested as a juvenile for armed robbery, according to the sources, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the sensitive nature of the issue. The record in the case is sealed, and the outcome was unknown, the sources said.

Three others admitted criminal activities for which they had not been arrested, including setting fire to construction equipment and selling marijuana, the sources said. The sources did not provide names or further details.

Labor attorney John Berry, who is filing appeals for seven of the dismissed recruits, said that under Capitol Police regulations, the chief is supposed to review candidates' applications and disclosures before they are offered jobs. It "begs the question of whether or not he did his job," he said.

Berry said some of his clients had committed minor infractions.

One of the recruits, for example, was part of a group of 15 college students who stole a street sign, Berry said. The student was charged with a misdemeanor that was later expunged from his record, he said, adding that the recruit had acknowledged the incident before being hired.

The same recruit told Capitol Police officials that as a 13-year-old, he had been with a cousin who was getting high by inhaling the gas in a whipped-cream can. The young man tried to mimic his cousin, "but was too clumsy to do it," Berry said, adding that the recruit had never used illegal drugs. The incident was listed in the recruit's dismissal letter.

"If every person were held accountable for their actions as 13-year-olds and disallowed from job opportunities because of those actions, there would be a paucity of employment in the world," Berry told The Washington Post in an e-mail.

Some recruits were dismissed for non-criminal issues. They included failing a psychological evaluation and providing false or misleading information during the hiring process, officials said.

Gainer said Capitol Police applicants' names are typically run through several databases to check for criminal records. In addition, officials do background checks, examining the applicants' school and work records and interviewing neighbors, he said.
For the original story posted here at this blog, go to HERE

Posted by Pebi Services President Tyra Hearns

Police recruits dismissed over flawed background investigation plan legal action

By Jordy Yager

At least five of the 15 recently dismissed U.S. Capitol Police recruits are planning to challenge the department’s decision to remove them. The recruits were asked on Monday to resign because of a departmental hiring process error in which criminal background investigations, psychological evaluations and complete reviews were not fully conducted.

The five recruits have asked John Berry, former general counsel to the Capitol Police’s union, to represent them as they appeal Morse’s decision to terminate their probationary employment. “The reality is they gave up their jobs and they’re not going to get another job in this area because someone’s going to view them as tainted,” Berry said. “It’s almost impossible. And all because people were incompetent.”

Several weeks into their training program, the recruits were asked to return to Washington, D.C., from the training center in Georgia after it was revealed that Capitol Police’s human resources department had hired the individuals without complete background investigations. Deputy Chief Matthew Verderosa replaced former human resources director Jennifer McCarthy earlier this month, and oversaw the proper vetting of the new recruits.

Fifteen did not meet the department’s hiring standards. The reasons for the recruits’ terminations vary, but include juvenile criminal records and minor traffic offenses, according to a Capitol Police source. Senate Sergeant at Arms Terrance Gainer, a member of the Capitol Police Board, said the problem was not that the recruits attempted to hide their pasts. It was that the human resource department bypassed information that should have been scrutinized.

“There’s nothing the department learned during the course of its investigation that wasn’t known in the file. What is obvious is that people in [human resources] didn’t follow the rules,” Gainer said. As a result, the 15 recruits were dismissed Monday by Morse. His decision was upheld by the Capitol Police Board, but was condemned Tuesday not only by Berry, but by Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-D.C.).

“I have great skepticism about hiring people, making them quit their jobs and then saying, ‘Whoops,’ ” Norton said. Berry pointed out that under U.S. law, Capitol Police Chief Philip Morse cannot hire or terminate any employee without first getting the approval of the Capitol Police Board, the House Administration Committee and the Senate Rules Committee.

“The Senate Rules Committee and the House Administration Committee can say, ‘No, we do not approve your recommendation and I’m sorry, they need to start work,’ ” Berry said. “The members of the Security subcommittee have been kept apprised of the situation, and have confidence that the chief will take the appropriate actions,” said Salley Collins, spokeswoman for the House Administration Committee’s GOP leadership.

Gainer said the recruits were dismissed because of information that came up in the new background investigations. “[The recruits] may have initially been untruthful about their information and then eventually become truthful or they acknowledged things that should have been automatic disqualifiers or they had problems in their psychological background which should have prohibited their hiring,” Gainer said.

Gainer said Morse is trying to give the recruits a second opportunity by giving them a chance to appeal his decision. Gainer said Morse is doing this because the mistake originated within the department. “What the chief is trying to do and the [Capitol Police] Board supports is listen, this is a very unique set of circumstances, people did make life-changing decisions and they’re going to be left hanging here,” Gainer said.

“Chief [Morse] gave the recruits an opportunity to counter or refute or offer something in mitigation which might change his mind and the circumstances upon which he made his decision.”

Posted by Pebi Services President Tyra Hearns

Applicant process explained for many civil service openings

By Test Ready Pro

Background investigations typically happen after you've applied, been screened during the application process, are interviewed and are then assessed. This often where applicants with a lack of volunteer involvement, post secondary education or work consistency get turned down. If you're competitive enough you will be put through to the background investigation portion. Some services will just put you through their background when you're successful with interviews however, some will first assess your application/resume and make a decision from there compared against other applicants who are also waiting for their background investigation. If selected to move on to the background investigation, a specific investigator will be assigned to your check, they will check with your school, volunteer, work and personal character references. Now, keep in mind you've offered these references but at anytime you could receive a call saying that you need to supply extra references as the ones you've provided could not be contacted or any variety of issues that could occur. Also this is the time when your pre-background questionnaire is drawn upon for reference against traffic accidents, tickets, criminal charges etc. Typically they take four weeks but can take as little as two weeks. Problems with the length of your background investigation occur if you were not born in Canada, have studied outside of Canada or lived abroad.

Letters of reference are great for this process because you know exactly what the person who wrote the letter feels about you. Letters of reference can even be from your friends/personal character reference. Letters of reference are great to bring along with your during your early interview stages, put them in your portfolio along with your OACP COR, other certificates/awards. I highly recommend having letters of reference written specifically to the job you're applying for, either "I have no hesitations in recommending ______ for a career with the _________ Police Service."

A quick note about references: Don't just assume that because someone agrees to writing you a letter of reference or agrees to be a reference that they will give you a good reference. Letters of reference in sealed envelopes intended only for the recipient can be bad news if you're not sure that the reference writing the letter is absolutely happy with you. Also, make sure you references are available, because they write a letter doesn't mean they're off the hook.

If you don't have any letters of reference, dig up your old bosses, current bosses, teachers etc. and have them write something simple. Make sure they include the date, their name, mailing address and a phone where they can be reached. If they're having a hard time writing one or don't know what to do, use google to search reference letter form generators or simply "how to write a letter of reference."

Background checks include credit checks and it's important that you take the responsibility to use the resources out there to check your credit score and determine if it needs to be improved upon.



Posted by Pebi Services President Tyra Hearns

New Zealand writer enlightens readers on needs for background investigations

By Gill South

In a tight labour market, it can be tempting to hire someone who can start as soon as possible, without doing a thorough background investigation of their references, says Peter Sherwin, New Zealand spokesman for Grant Thornton, which recently published a survey on undiscovered fraud in New Zealand private companies.

Some people are lax when they take someone on. "It's, 'Oh yeah, I know that firm, when can you start?"'

And some of us may have grown up with the idea that it was fine to "massage the facts" when writing our resumes. Once we had our foot in the door, it wouldn't matter any more; we'd just work hard and prove they were right to hire us.

But these days, embroidering details of your employment history is not a smart move. Increasing numbers of companies are using what are called pre-employment background screening organizations - companies that are trained to root out the anomalies in people's employment histories. As a result, you are unlikely to get offered the job - and may suffer some embarrassment as well. If there's a suggestion that you have blatantly lied about a key factor, like your qualifications, it can even lead to police investigation, as in the admittedly extreme case of Immigration Service head Mary Anne Thompson.

New Zealand companies are, like others around the world, taking recruitment more seriously in a market where human capital is so precious.

What they want to check is: has this person delivered in their previous jobs and what will they deliver in the future? Hence the increasingly common use of psychometric checking and professional reference checking. As well as employment history and qualifications,these companies look at people's integrity and honesty, and financial backgrounds. Have they ever been bankrupt? Perhaps not the best life history for a chief financial officer.

And a tip for job-seekers: make sure your past employers really are fans of yours. When checking references,quite frequently the employer will say: "They're not that great."

You might assume that background check companies are used just for top management but they may actually be working right across the board, from the receptionist to the general manager for some companies.

Even if the person is reasonably well known to the management, they are still using background check companies. executive boards don't "want any surprises". That's why there is a procedure in place.

Companies prefer to find out about a problem, rather than have a journalist discover the issue.

Be warned about changing your story or reinventing yourself when you go for a new job. The problem in New Zealand, of course, is that if you have blotted your copybook, you can never escape. Background Investigations are very important for people who have "access to the cheque book", such as chief executives, chief operating officers and chief financial officers.

Some common problem areas, such as the person's behaviour in the workplace, are often not to be found anywhere on a resume and those are the things that can make someone a poor fit. Do they use intimidating tactics in the office? Do they regularly slope off home at 4.30 to go to a "meeting"?

Posted by Pebi Services President Tyra Hearns

Background Investigations: What you need to know

by Chad Terhune
Business Week Magazine


Most jobs nowadays, from cashier to a senior executive, require a background check. And more employers are vetting longtime employees, too. These investigations are done increasingly by outside screening companies. Here's some things applicants and employers need to know:

JOB APPLICANTS
Check prior background reports. Under federal law, you are entitled to a copy of any background report that had been done on you, for a minimal fee of $10 or less. In three states, California, Minnesota, and Oklahoma, they're free. You need to know which screening firm out of the nearly 2,000 nationwide did the report. A previous employer can tell you and then contact the screening company directly.

Know who's checking your past. Examine the consent form that gives an employer permission to conduct a background check. It should list the screening firm doing the work and the scope of the investigation, whether that includes criminal records, credit history, driving record, or reference interviews.

Act fast if something's wrong. If you're rejected for a job based on your background report, an employer must tell you this and hand over a copy of the full report. Federal regulators have said employers have to wait only five business days before hiring another applicant while you dispute information in your background report. Contact the screening firm immediately and demand, in writing and by phone, a reinvestigation.

EMPLOYERS
Know what you're getting from a background investigation. The quality and depth of background investigations vary widely in an industry where many companies are startups offering low prices to win business. Be wary of Web sites offering instant checks. They may not be familiar with compliance and federal law. Some background companies search for criminal history in only one or two counties where an applicant has lived primarily, possibly missing information elsewhere.

There's no national database of all criminal records. Despite some marketing claims to the contrary, no master file exists of all state and federal criminal arrests and convictions. Searching criminal records remains a fragmented task across 50 states and thousands of courthouses. Diligent searches require screening firms to send workers to pull court files by hand for accuracy.

Know how reference checks are done. Some screening firms grant anonymity to friends and former bosses and co-workers in exchange for unvarnished opinions about applicants. Others identify all sources to guard against unsubstantiated gossip and innuendo. Ask how a screening firm checks references and whether you can provide specific questions to be asked that pertain to the position being filled.

Posted by Tyra Hearns of www.pebiservices.com