A water operator fired from his city of Port Coquitlam job last year pleaded guilty today (Thursday) to a charge of stealing copper pipes from the municipality.
Harold Lewis avoided a two-day trial — set for Dec. 19 and 20 at PoCo provincial court — by admitting to the offence of theft under $5,000. He will be sentenced Jan. 30.
Crown counsel told Judge Tina Dion several reports are required before the sentencing.
Lewis did not speak during the brief hearing other than to confirm his plea. Afterward, his lawyer, Michael Bolton, declined to make a statement to The Tri-City News until his client is sentenced.
Lewis, a 57-year-old PoCo resident, was one of seven public works employees terminated last year on allegations of stealing new and used copper pipes from the city to sell for scrap metal over a 10-year period. The estimated total loss to the city was at least $75,000.
Cpl. Michael McLaughlin of Coquitlam RCMP told The Tri-City News this week the other six former workers won’t face criminal charges.
“Our investigation is essentially concluded,” he said.
In a statement, CUPE Local 498, which represents PoCo city employees, said the organization “has assisted the seven city of Port Coquitlam workers terminated in 2018 through the grievance and arbitration process. The union awaits the decision of the arbitrator and, as these matters may be subject to appeal and are the subject of an ongoing legal process, the union has no further comment.”
The arbitrator’s decision, which is binding, is expected sometime in the new year.
Meanwhile, the city also issued a statement, saying the staff members were fired last July following a six-month investigation, and notifying police of the workplace thefts.
“Since this incident, the city has reviewed the structure, processes and procedures in place for monitoring the inventory, usage and disposal of city property, and implementing measures to help prevent such thefts in the future,” PoCo’s communications manager Pardeep Purewal told The Tri-City News.
Among the actions taken, she said, are:
• separating the disposal of copper from other metal recycling in a secure area;
• using other pipe materials to reduce the need for copper;
• reviewing the city’s conflict of interest and use of municipal equipment policies with all staff and conducting ethics training for all employees;
• providing training for managers on fraud awareness;
• and creating a new exempt supervisor position within the utilities section of the department.
The firing of the seven employees came two months after Dean McIntosh — a former PoCo facility maintenance co-ordinator — was sentenced for stealing about $175,000 from the city over three years. He received an 18-month conditional sentence order after he pleaded guilty to obtaining money over $5,000 by false pretences. (McIntosh apologized to the city and returned the money).
After the McIntosh discovery in 2017, the city implemented a whistleblower policy, reviewed approval thresholds for staff with purchasing authority and increased budget variance reporting.
“We will also be undertaking internal audit reviews by a third party,” Purewal said, adding, “We thank our employees for their continued professionalism and working hard every day to serve our community and earn the trust of our citizens.”
