It was late in the second quarter of 2014 when the Town of Ontario Board spotted discrepancies in figures supplied to the Board by then Superintendent of Water, Rodney Peets. He was asked for clarification on millions of gallons of water loss at the Town owned and operated water plant, located on the shore of Lake Ontario.
“Peets was given every opportunity to straighten this out,” said an unnamed source. By meetings in 2015, the water loss became an intensified issue that led to Peets being “allowed to retire” early in 2017.
The high water loss prompted a year-long investigation by the New York State Police, the Wayne County District Attorney’s Office and the New York State Comptrollers Office into Peets conduct while employed by the Town of Ontario.
On Tuesday (10/10) a 13 count Wayne County Grand Jury indictment was opened. Peets was arrested for Offering a False Instrument for Filing 1st (3 counts), Offering a False Instrument for Filing 2nd (3 counts), Tampering with a Public Record 1st (3 counts), Tampering with a Public Record 2nd (3 counts) and Official Misconduct. He was arraigned on Wednesday in Wayne County Court and remanded to jail on No Bail. He was released on Wednesday by a County Court Order issued by Judge Daniel Barrett.
In the 13 count indictment, six felonies and seven misdemeanors, it is alleged Peets issued a “Revised” report to the Town Board on the Unaccounted for Water, dated February 16, 2015 and knowingly made false/altered statements that would be registered as part of public records. Peets repeatedly gave more false Activity reports to the Board in December of 2015, January 2016 and the Annual Drinking Water Report for 2015, dated March 2016.
There was no alleged theft of monies, but a misrepresentation of water loss over the period of time. No one could explain why Peets falsified the reports.
Peets’ actions were exposed after the Town Supervisor notified the Comptroller and law enforcement of the potential issue. The Comptroller then partnered with the State Police and District Attorney to fully expose Peets’ alleged crime.”
“Mr. Peets allegedly failed to correct the water system issue and falsified records to conceal his negligence,” State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli said. “Taxpayers have a right to expect accountability and transparency in government. I thank the State Police and Acting District Attorney Bokelman for their efforts to fight public corruption.”
The result of the false statements created problems, not only with the state agencies, but questions of matching water production with customer billing over the time period. The Comptroller’s office and Town reviewed thousands of computer entries.
The water issue may not be much of a problem with homeowners, but large customers like the Ginna Plant, that did have billing anomalies over the past years, have come into question. The Ginna facility has numerous water meters that get billed.
The Town will review any questions water customers bring to their attention. One source has indicated this may cost the town money after the dust settles.
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