From the Chicago Sun-Times

Another inspector quits after city alleges he 'stretched truth'

September 22, 2004
BY FRAN SPIELMAN City Hall Reporter Another city inspector has resigned and a second may follow him out the door after being accused of falsifying their work histories in a burgeoning hiring scandal in Mayor Daley's Department of Buildings.
Tuesday's resignation by 49-year-old David Marino brings to three the number of allegedly unqualified city inspectors forced out in the last week.
Twice last week the sons of carpenters union honchos -- 19-year-old Andy Ryan and Kevin Sexton, 23 -- resigned from $49,548-a-year inspector jobs after being accused of inflating their resumes.
Marino is one of 14 other inspectors hired along with Ryan and Sexton to fill vacancies created by a wave of early retirements. His story is virtually identical to the other two.
When Buildings Commissioner Stan Kaderbek started calling companies on Marino's resume, he allegedly found that Marino had "stretched the truth," said Buildings Department spokeswoman Breelyn Pete.
"There were two companies on his resume. He said he worked at one of them for two years and, when we called, it was two weeks. The other company was out of business," Pete said.
"We gave him four days to give us additional information [supporting his claims] and he couldn't. So he resigned."
Pete offered no specifics on the other case, except to say, "There may be a second one."
Kaderbek refused to comment on the scandal, hanging up on a Chicago Sun-Times reporter who called seeking comment.
It was unclear what effect the new round of resignations would have on Kaderbek's struggle to keep his job.
Earlier Tuesday -- before the latest round of bad news -- Mayor Daley appeared to leave his 50-year-old buildings commissioner twisting in the wind.
Asked whether the two apologies that Kaderbek has made over the last week would be enough to secure his future in the Cabinet, the mayor said, "We'll see. We'll see how well he makes decisions."
Pressed on what it would take for Kaderbek to regain his trust, Daley said, "Perform well every day. Don't do stupid things."
Twice in the last week -- once to Daley and the rest of Chicago, the second time to his hard-working core of inspectors -- Kaderbek has apologized for signing off on the new hires without first substantiating the claims made on their resumes. But he has said he has no plans to resign.
Kaderbek said he would work to restore his credibility by doing what he failed to do with Ryan and Sexton: verify the work histories of the 14 inspectors hired with Ryan and Sexton as well as future applicants.
Kaderbek said he had no plans to check the work histories of the entire 175-employee army of inspectors, arguing that after a few years on the job, "What counts is their performance."