Aldermanic President Lewis Reed is calling on the mayor to immediately fire his head of the city’s IT Department.
Reed’s demand follows a report aired last night on KSDK Channel 5 showing over the past three and a half years city taxpayers paid more than $1.5 million to a company ran by a convicted felon and apparently most of the money went to the salaries of just two computer engineers and one internship for the IT department chief’s own son.
By Leisa Zigman, I-Team Reporter
KSDK — Over the past three and a half years city tax payers paid more than $1.5 million to United Forensics Corporation of St. Louis. The bulk of that seven figure payout covered the salaries of just two computer engineers.
United Forensics was hired to help run the city’s computer network in 2005 but its contract was terminated this past summer after the I-Team started filing Freedom of Information (FOI) requests.
Over the past two months the I-Team reviewed thousands of invoices, contracts, and vouchers that raised more questions than they answered.
Mike Wise is the head of the Information Technology Services Agency or ITSA for the City of St. Louis.
City records show, over three and a half years, ITSA paid United Forensics $1.6 million to help manage the city’s computer network. The first question the I-Team raised was whether the city ever ran a background check on the company.
Alif Terranson founded United Forensics Corporation in 2004.
“We had interface to some of the most sensitive things the city touches: Regis, law enforcement, we controlled the interaction, the routing,” he said. “There is nothing in the City of St. Louis networking that we did not have some form of control…In some cases absolute total control.”
Terranson is a convicted felon. His ex-business partner, Josh Restivo, was a high school drop out who may have stretched the truth on his resume.
Restivo implied he graduated from the prestigious Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois, and Public School 4 in New Jersey. Our investigation showed neither was true.
St. Louis City Attorney Patti Hageman responded to our questions, not Mike Wise, the head of the IT Department.
The I-Team’s Leisa Zigman asked, “How does the city hire a company that was founded by a convicted felon and a high school drop out?”
Hageman said, “The city relies on the judgment of its directors to enter into its contracts for the services.”
NewsChannel 5 requests to interview Wise were denied. When we approached him, he didn’t have much to say. But the money trail provided a lot of information.
In 2005 city taxpayers paid United Forensics about $47,000 for one full time employee and a part-time senior manager.
In 2006 taxpayers dolled out $345,000 for two full-time employees — a 622 percent increase.
In 2007 the pay out was more than $511,000 for two on-site engineers — a 48 percent increase.
“These numbers have nothing to do with doing the right contract work. These numbers are payback,” Terranson said.
That payback, according to Terranson, was to hire, Tina Raske, the wife of the I-T Department’s number two man, Gerry Raske.
An e-mail, provided by Terranson from Wise, states: “I need to discuss perhaps adding Tina to United Forensics and her helping Gerry. What would be your ‘uplift’ if we pay Tina $35.00? per hour, say for the next 90 days until she finds something?”
United Forensics hired Raske and city tax payers footed the bill for more than a year. United Forensics eventually fired her, according to Terranson. The city re-hired her a short time later. She continues to work for the city today.
The other favor, according to Terranson, was to give a paid internship to Wise’s son whenever he was home on college break.
“That would not be appropriate…which is why we are working with the Police Department as well as conducting our own internal investigation,” Hageman said.
NewsChannel 5 reviewed all the invoices submitted by United Forensics since 2005 and compared it to checks written by the City Comptroller’s office.
In May of 2006, Wise Jr. began his internship training. He was trained on May 18, 22, and 25, grossing about $14.00 an hour. On May 29, city tax payers gave the summer intern eight hours of pay for a national holiday. Wise Jr. received more internship training on June 1, 5, 8, 12, 20 and 23.
On July 4, taxpayers gave Wise Junior another eight hours of holiday pay followed by a half dozen more training days. In August, records show he had even more internship training.
“Internship training was a generic term. It was the only thing we could think of to bill it as. We had explicit instructions from Mike Wise, his father and the director to bill all hours for his time to the city,” Terranson said.
Hageman was asked why city officials would give a benefit like holiday pay to any outside employee, let alone a summer intern.
“We have an on-going investigation. When it’s completed we’ll take all appropriate action. If we are owed a refund we will seek that,” he said.
According to billing documents provided by Terranson, Wise Jr.’s internship included watering plants, taking out trash, cleaning, vacuuming and picking up supplies.
Ledgers show United Forensics billed city tax payers at least $11,000 to pay for Wise Jr.’s college break internship.
“The city got taken for a ride with our company. I’m doing this interview to bring attention to it,” Terranson said.
Terranson said he and his ex-partner Josh Restivo had a falling out in 2007. Restivo continued running the company. While he would not go on camera, he spent several hours answering our questions by phone and e-mail. He said Wise never forced United Forensics to hire anyone, not even his son.
But a series of e?mails provided by Terranson raises questions about whether Wise did use his influence to get friends and family hired.
Terranson supplied NewsChannel 5 with this e-mail from Wise and Restivo: “I am working on getting a request for hiring Tina Raske on to city payroll. And can Michael re-up his 2007 internship starting April 17?
In another e-mail, Restivo writes to Terranson, “Mike Sr. has suggested little Mike be moved to $10 an hour from $9.00. This represents a roughly 10 percent increase and we must increase our billing to them for his pay level accordingly.”
“These allegations are extremely troubling,” Hageman said.
Terranson claims his ex-partner severed all ties and cut him out of hundreds of thousands of dollars from the city contract.
“I’m going public to you because I have no where else to go. I have no options left. The only way I can correct what is happening here is to expose it,” he said.
In addition to a police investigation, the city requested a state audit of ITSA. As for Restivo, he claims the city is past due on at least $180,000 for work done since April.
As a point of comparison, KSDK interns receive no salary. They must also get academic credit.
Terranson was convicted back in the late 1980s for illegal possession of a hand gun in New York City. He received five year’s probation.
I spoke to dozens of city hall insiders and law enforcement. No one complained about United Forensics’ work. The issue was whether two full time engineers warranted $1,600,000 and whether Wise used his influence for a friends and family jobs program.
The ITSA budget for this year for the city of St. Louis is $5,490, 000.
Here are I-T Budgets in a few similar population sized cities:
Arlington, TX – $4,950,284 Wichita, KS – $8,365,970 Tampa Fl – $11,951,305
According to KSDK, the city has also formally asked Missouri Auditor Susan Montee’s office to examine all the allegations raised in the report.
