Duplication
Just as Mr. Reichl's suspension began, a check arrived in Montour's offices for more than $80,000, from Connellsville-based Ford Business Machines. Officials initially wondered what it was for.
Ford Business had, for years, provided photocopiers to the district, and in 2006 it set up a new lease charging $13,988 a month. In 2009, it refinanced that lease, providing new copiers and lowering the monthly payment to $13,075 monthly.
The problem: Ford Business didn't pay off the 2006 lease. So from August 2009 through July 2010, the district paid on both leases. Instead of shaving $913 a month from its copier costs, it nearly doubled them, resulting in $325,000 in total payments for copy machines over 12 months.
Ford Business President John Garlow said his firm reimbursed Montour for part of the duplicate payment, to the tune of $80,000, even though some of the fault lies with the district. He said his firm delivered new copiers, but Montour's administration "did not want the equipment installed. ... The [information technology department] would not even let us connect them."
Since the district had two sets of copiers -- old ones installed, new ones in waiting -- it had to pay two leases, he said.
Why would the district be slow to install new copiers? District staff "said it was because of politics," Mr. Garlow said. "We were friendly with the old board, and this was a new board."
Mr. Garlow was, in 2006 and 2007, a repeat contributor to Mr. Wovchko's Robinson Township Democratic Committee.
He also did business with board member Mr. Ewonce's firm, A.J. Printing Services, paying it $32,902 for printing work from 2008 through July 2010.
"My dealings with [Mr. Garlow] were just business," said Mr. Ewonce. "I make myself available. I'm a businessman."
He said he has also brokered printing work for other district vendors, including Mr. Weiss, and Mr. Apostolou. He said he doesn't strong-arm the vendors for work, and reluctantly does low-profit business card printing for them.
Prompted by a complaint, the State Ethics Commission reviewed his work with those vendors, and found no violation of conflict of interest rules.
Mr. Ewonce abstains on board votes to pay the bills of vendors for whom he prints.
Mr. Ewonce denied lifting a finger for Ford in its dealings with the district. He said his signature on the district's 2009 copier lease was forged -- by whom, he doesn't know. He added that he feels burned by Ford's dealings with the district, no longer talks with Mr. Garlow or prints for Ford, and wants a full investigation, rather than a settlement.
"If [the district is] going to end up settling with Ford," he said, "I've lost a customer and I've lost a friend over nothing."
The stumbling block preventing a settlement, said Mr. Boyer, is the district's insistence on "assurances from Ford Business Machines regarding any relationship [the firm had] with Sam Reichl" when he was business manager. He said a relationship could be a conflict of interest.
In December, months after he left the district, Mr. Reichl was reached by phone at Ford Business's office. He said he was doing consulting work.
http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/11093/1136647-57.stm
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