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Friday, August 13, 2010
Supervisor in Dantis Cover-Up Keeps Job
By Jeff Proctor
Copyright © 2010 Albuquerque Journal
Journal Staff Writer
"Utter failure" as a supervisor, allegedly falsifying an incident report and lying to the county manager apparently isn't enough to get you fired at Bernalillo County.
At least it wasn't in the case of Dwight Dias, a top supervisor at the county's detox center.
Despite having given Dias a proposed five-page termination letter laying out 34 points supporting dismissal, County Manager Thaddeus Lucero reversed course Thursday and announced in an e-mail that Dias "will continue as an employee with Bernalillo County."
Instead of termination, Dias will receive a 60-day suspension, reassignment to a counselor's position at the county jail and a decrease in annual salary from about $60,000 to about $35,000.
Dias also agreed to retire within the next year.
Lucero has said since June 25 that he intended to fire Dias and discipline two other employees after an investigation by an outside law firm concluded that Jamie Dantis, son of former Deputy County Manager John Dantis, was given "favorable treatment" and his hiring violated the county's nepotism policy.
The investigation was launched after Journal stories revealed the younger Dantis' arrest record and various allegations against him in connection with his job at the county-run Metropolitan Assessment and Treatment Services.
Lucero had said he planned to fire Dias for his "utter failure" as a supervisor and for lying to him in response to questions about the younger Dantis' employment at MATS.
In Thursday's e-mail, Lucero wrote: "... having carefully considered all of the facts and circumstances regarding (Dias') performance, I have decided not to terminate his employment. Rather, after conversations with Mr. Dias where he agreed to accept responsibility for his actions and failures and more importantly his agreement to accept severe disciplinary action, Mr. Dias will continue as an employee with Bernalillo County."
"Mr. Dias has also agreed to retire or resign his employment on or before June 1, 2011," Lucero wrote. "Because we are moving forward and because this issue is a personnel matter, upon the advice of counsel, I cannot comment further."
A hearing on Dias' termination was held July 29 — weeks after Dias received a notice of Lucero's intent to fire him.
The case against Dias was based primarily on allegations that he covered up for the son of his boss.
In the letter, Lucero accuses Dias of not reporting allegations that Jaime Dantis brought a pellet gun to work and had come to work impaired on several occasions.
"You were aware that Jamie Dantis was impaired, albeit on prescriptive medication, and allowed him to continue to work while impaired," Lucero wrote.
Lucero also writes that Dias should have required the younger Dantis to submit to drug testing after several of the alleged incidents and after Dantis crashed a county van into a co-worker's car.
The letter said Dias failed to properly report leave time Jamie Dantis had used and accused Dias of making a "material misrepresentation to the court" by submitting a document in a criminal case against Jamie Dantis, saying that Dantis had been a solid employee at MATS.
Lucero also accused Dias of falsifying an incident report alleging that Jamie Dantis had been seen rummaging through a MATS client's backpack to say Dantis had followed protocol.
"You met in my office with me, Carl Broach and John Dantis," Lucero wrote. "During that meeting I asked if there were any problems with Jamie Dantis. You assured me that there were no problems and advised me that he was an exemplary employee. ...
"Clearly, the e-mail correspondence, incident reports and verbal communications that you received regarding Mr. Dantis' sleeping at work, bringing a pellet gun into work, being impaired at work, etc., do not support your representation to me that he was an exemplary employee."
On April 28, Lucero told the Journal he met with Dias, John Dantis and Broach, another MATS supervisor, to ask whether any complaints had been made against the younger Dantis during his time at MATS.
"They all said: 'No,' " Lucero said at the time.
Lucero subsequently said John Dantis had given him no verbal reassurances during the April meeting, and Broach had been "truthful" but would still be placed on 12 months' "at-will" probation, along with Adan Carriaga, another MATS supervisor.
John Dantis announced his retirement on June 28. He cited medical and personal reasons and said his decision had nothing to do with the MATS scandal.
Lucero has refused to say whether he planned to discipline John Dantis.
Jamie Dantis resigned his county post in June under threat of termination.
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