DPW Chief Suspended In Parking Meter Theft Probe

A DPW foreman may be the first head to roll in an investigation into missing money from Port Chester's parking meters.

Gary Racaniello, foreman of Port Chester's Department of Public Works, was suspended without pay Tuesday and faces 36 disciplinary charges levied by Bob Lombardi, assistant to the village manager.

Racaniello's suspension is the first action Port Chester has taken in a pair of investigations – criminal and administrative – into the wide-scale theft.

Racaniello was the primary manager in the DPW and oversaw collections from Port Chester's parking meters. The village collects almost $500,000 a year from some 750 meters within two square miles.

In public comments about an investigation that spanned most of the summer and still continues, police detectives told trustees that some 140 metal canisters inside Port Chester's meters had locks that were "defeated or broken."

Trustees were visibly angry that no one from the DPW reported the broken canisters, and Racaniello was the department head responsible for speaking up. In a demonstration before the board in August, Detective Lt. Royal Monroe held up examples of the canisters and explained how the locks had been sawed off or broken, making it clear that it wasn't wear and tear or rust that gave the thieves access to the money inside.

The next step for Racaniello is a hearing, and village officials say lawyers for both sides will have to agree to terms with the guidance of a hearing officer. Racaniello is unionized, but it wasn't clear if he will be represented by the Civil Service Employees Union, or if he'd hired a lawyer.

The most Racaniello stands to lose from the charges is his job, and a decision will take months. In the meantime, he's suspended without pay.

But a criminal investigation is also pending, and investigators from the Westchester County District Attorney's Office are working with detectives from Port Chester, poring over data and analyzing collection records that were written by the same people who were stealing the money.

At a pair of meetings in August, trustees bemoaned the fact that they didn't know how much was collected before employees began stealing, which means they may never really know how much money was missing.

The receipts were hand-written, and the money was "taken, counted and bagged" at a DPW garage on Fox Island Road, Village Manager Christopher Russo said.

Port Chester police haven't released any details about their findings, aside from Royal's demonstration to the board at a public meeting, and a statement from Lt. James Ladeairous saying detectives are still at work on the investigation. None of the police statements so far have mentioned Racaniello.

Police supervised parking meter collections for a few weeks before Port Chester hired Central Parking System. The private company – which specializes in meters and collections for towns and cities – is in charge of collecting the money for the next three months, at a cost of $45,000.