A former Port Coquitlam city staffer who stole about $175,000 from taxpayers — and later repaid the municipality in full — now faces jail time.
Last month, the BC Prosecution Service formally laid charges of theft over $5,000 and fraud over $5,000 against Dean Lawrence McIntosh, a 51-year-old PoCo resident who was the city’s facility maintenance co-ordinator before he quit in the spring.
Under the Criminal Code of Canada, a theft conviction carries up to a 10-year prison term while fraud conviction can result in a maximum of 14 years behind bars.
Coquitlam RCMP Const. Jennifer Goodings told The Tri-City News that the detachment, which has been investigating the complaint by PoCo city hall since May, would not comment further on the case as it is now before the courts. McIntosh’s first court appearance is scheduled fro Jan. 24 at the PoCo provincial courthouse.
According to this year’s statement of financial information report from the city, McIntosh earned a base salary of $78,802 in 2016 plus $9,026 in benefits; he also claimed $2,599 in expenses that year, bringing his total 2016 remuneration to $90,428.
As The Tri-City News exclusively reported last May, it is alleged McIntosh stole about $175,000 of taxpayers’ money over a three-year period by buying tools and small machines with a city credit card and via the city’s purchasing system; he then resold the items through an unidentified third-party broker for personal gain, city manager John Leeburn told The Tri-City News.
Leeburn, who did not disclose what the staffer used the money for, learned of the offences in February through another staff member and confronted the employee, who admitted to the theft, apologized and resigned after returning the outstanding funds.
The theft prompted a forensic review at city hall to look at how the staffer took the cash and to find ways on how it could be prevented in the future.
In November, city council adopted a new whistleblower policy to protect city workers and council members when reporting possible internal misconduct. As well, city hall reviewed approval thresholds for staff who have purchasing authority and trained its managers on fraud awareness when approving purchases.
jcleugh@tricitynews.com
