Audit: Ex-Tangipahoa Landfill Manager May Have Taken More Than $18,000 from Scrap Metal Sales

An investigative audit has found that the former Tangipahoa Parish Landfill manager appears to have directed $18,533 from the sale of Parish-owned scrap to himself rather than the Parish and allowed a contractor to dispose of roofing debris without paying the required fees, the Legislative Auditor said in a report released today.

The investigation began as a result of complaints received by the auditor’s office.

Between April 2013 and April 2016, the Parish sold all of its scrap metal to Hwy. 16 Scrap Yard. The owner of the scrap yard told auditors that on several occasions he paid the landfill manager directly for the scrap metal either with cash or with a personal check.

Auditors found that the Parish did not receive payment for a total of $27,681 in scrap metal during that time. Of that amount, $18,533 came from checks made out to the landfill manager, according to the scrap yard’s bank statements. The scrap yard had no records to verify any cash payments.

Auditors also found that the landfill manager allowed a contractor to dispose of roofing debris without paying a fee to the Parish. Parish records showed that $49,330 should have been collected for the debris, but was not.

The contractor told auditors that he paid the landfill manager $50 in cash for each trip to the landfill, instead of paying the required per ton fee. According to Parish records, the contractor made 331 trips to the landfill between 2013 and 2016, which could potentially total $16,550 in cash payments to the landfill manager instead of paying the Parish $49,330.