Fox 11 News has learned that a supervisor in the city of Tucson’s Transportation Department was suspended without pay for two weeks after he ordered other employees to use city vehicles to chauffeur a man to and from work for ten months.

It comes at a time when the City of Tucson is battling escalating fuel costs.  The city reported recently that it is $2.6 million over budget so far this fiscal year.

The Fox 11 News Investigation learned through city records that TDOT Supervisor Ernesto Encinas received the discipline after allowing the special treatment for TDOT employee Ray Quihuis, even though Encinas had been ordered to stop it months earlier.

Quihuis

An employee of TDOT, upset over the special treatment, followed the city vehicle carrying Quihuis one day and videotaped it.  He went all the way from the work site at Park Avenue and Ajo Way to Quihuis’ home near Grant and Silverbell.

Most Tucsonans, when they see a Tucson Transportation Department pick up truck traveling through Tucson, assume the employees in it are on city business.  There are hundreds of similar trucks out there owned by the City. 

 “I just trust that they're doing what they're supposed to be doing”, says Tucson resident Valerie Lucas when asked if she thinks city employees go where they’re supposed to during work hours.

In the video obtained by Fox 11 News and aired Tuesday night, May 13, you can see a man we’re told is Edward Sierras, also an employee of the Transportation Department, chauffeuring his co-worker, Quihuis, to and from work in a city pick- up truck.  We’re told Sierras was being paid his hourly pay rate - $27 an hour - to do it.  He would cover the 15-mile round trip twice a day.  Other TDOT employees, we’re told, also were ordered to provide the service to Quihuis.

Fox 11 News at 9 has learned Quihuis got this red-carpet service for 10 months, and taxpayers paid for it.  Fox 11 calculates Tucson taxpayers were hit with over $20,000 in expense for Quihuis' chauffer service.

“That's a big waste of money!”, says Tucson resident Mike Derrick who was furious upon hearing about the situation.  Derrick says he thinks city employees manipulate the system.  “You’re paying insurance, gas, upkeep on the truck and for the person who drove him over there. I wonder if they’re going to personal events on the gas I’m buying them?” he told us.

He went on to describe Quihuis as, “sitting in his Tucson limo, but it's shaped like a pick-up truck.”

The very end of the video shows Quihuis getting out of the truck at his home using a walker.  The transportation department employee who gave us the video says Quihuis was getting a free ride because he couldn't drive himself and could barely get around because he was disabled.   But there is no record from the City of Quihuis requesting disability leave. We went to Mr. Quihuis' home and asked to speak with him, but he refused.

Documents Fox 11 News obtained through a public records request show there was paperwork submitted on April 30, 2007, from a city physician saying Quihuis was put on modified work status and told to limit his walking. Throughout those 10 months, the records Fox 11 received from the city indicate he got full pay.  They show he received an hourly rate of $35 an hour.  We wanted to know what type of work he performed during that time, but no one at the city's transportation department would talk to us on camera.  They'd only give us a written statement, in which they said the following:

"In response to the incidents, the department has taken appropriate action to insure that this type of behavior does not occur in the future.  The employees involved in this action have been counseled.  Disciplinary action has also been levied.  This is an internal, personnel issue that we will not discuss publicly".

But at least one Tucson taxpayer says the money should be returrned.  Derrick says, “’Mister Disabled’ should get to pay tens of thousands of dollars back.”

The city says Encinas was in violation of four city policies, but his suspension only cost him a little less than $3,000 compared to the over $20,000 tab taxpayers paid for Quihuis’ chauffer service.

Fox 11 News had many questions for TDOT Director Jim Glock, but he refused repeated requests for an on camera interview.

But the Fox 11 News investigation has shown what we believe to be the reason for the special treatment and why it continued for months after it was ordered stopped.

We have also learned that during the same ten-month period of time, Quihuis earned thousands of dollars in extra pay from the city for services it would have been very difficult for him to provide.  The extra pay again was apparently approved by Encinas.

More details on our investigation will be posted on this website Wednesday night and will air on Fox 11 News at 9 Wednesday.

To see the actual disciplinary documents we received from the city with the timeline of the investigation, click here.

Fox 11 News is also interested in your reaction to this story.  Send us an e-mail to news@fox11az.com.  Tell us what you think about this story.  Also, tell us about other cases of fraud involving taxpayer dollars in government you know about.  We’d be happy to hear from you.