Bridge Collapse

ST. PAUL (AP) ― State officials disciplined three Minnesota Transportation Department supervisors for lax oversight of an emergency manager who stayed out of state after the Interstate 35W bridge collapse.

All three supervised Sonia Morphew Pitt, who was fired last month after an internal investigation found that she committed serious misconduct involving travel and unauthorized expenses. One manager was suspended for three days without pay, the Department of Employee Relations said Monday.

An outside investigator's report offered a deeper look into management inside the transportation department, the target of harsh criticism since the fatal bridge collapse. The report says Rick Arnebeck, the division director who approved Pitt's frequent out-of-state trips, didn't even know she had a state credit card, and none of her managers monitored her use of a state cell phone for personal calls.

Top officials including Transportation Commissioner Carol Molnau told the investigator they didn't miss Pitt for almost a week after the bridge collapse. Molnau -- also the state's lieutenant governor -- said she couldn't remember exactly when she noticed Pitt was gone during the days after the collapse.

"It just didn't come up," she said Monday before a legislative hearing.

Molnau said her department's response to the disaster was "wonderful" and new, tougher requirements would prevent future abuse of expense accounts.

Even so, Democrats want Molnau or her boss, GOP Gov. Tim Pawlenty, held accountable for the situation.

"The commissioner is the obvious person, but certainly if the governor wanted to say, `The buck stops here,' I would be very interested in that," said DFL House Speaker Margaret Anderson Kelliher.

Lawmakers on a transportation oversight panel withheld approval of the $135 million in spending authority requested by Molnau, who clashed with them over the importance they put on rebuilding the fallen bridge. Instead, she got just $30 million of the spending authority, which she said would delay some projects.

Molnau must return to the panel next month for another examination of her agency's finances.

In the Pitt case, the most serious discipline of three days suspension without pay went to Arnebeck, who supervised the emergency manager from January 2006 until last April.

Steve Lund, the maintenance and security director who took over as her boss in April, got a written reprimand for inadequate oversight of her expenses and "poor judgment" for not ordering her back to Minnesota after the bridge fell.

"Mr. Lund stated that he deferred to Ms. Pitt's judgment regarding the need for her to return to Minnesota," said the report from outside investigator Eric Quiring.

The report added: "Mr. Lund acknowledged that in retrospect, he would have directed Ms. Pitt to return to Minnesota for public relations reasons. Mr. Lund stated that he still believes that there was no operations necessity for Ms. Pitt to be present in Minnesota."

Lund would have faced more severe discipline but got credit for starting to scrutinize Pitt's expenses and travel more closely, according to a disciplinary letter signed by Employee Relations Commissioner Pat Anderson. Still, the investigator said Lund lacked a basic understanding of Pitt's day-to-day activities.

Lund and Arnebeck did not immediately return messages.

Both got disciplinary letters in their personnel files that said: "Your lack of supervisory oversight attributed to the extremely damaging consequences that were inflicted upon the Department of Transportation and to a degree the image of all State employees which cannot be tolerated."

They were ordered to take remedial training in employee expenses, including how to identify discrepancies in expense reports.

Lund told the investigator that most of Pitt's travel -- except for one June trip to Boston that he approved -- was "inherited," meaning Arnebeck had previously approved the trips. Lund had told Pitt she would have to prioritize her upcoming trips for budgetary reasons.

A verbal reprimand went to Division Director Bob Winter, Lund's supervisor. The report said Winter didn't notice Pitt's absence until almost a week after the collapse.

Winter referred a call to the Department of Employee Relations, and wouldn't say more.

Some parts of the report were blacked out.

Of the nine managers directly or indirectly responsible for overseeing Pitt, two -- former Deputy Commissioner Doug Differt and former Division Director Marthand Nookala -- have quit and would not cooperate with investigators. No disciplinary action could be taken because they no longer work for the state.

Nookala and Differt did not immediately return phone messages.

Another four managers met with Anderson to go over the concerns.

As the director of MnDOT's Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Management, Pitt was responsible for developing and maintaining emergency preparedness for the agency. She supervised a staff of five and was also charged with getting grants for the office.

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According to a Gov. Tim Pawlenty's Web site, Molnau was born and raised on a farm in Carver County. She attended Waconia public schools and the University of Minnesota.

(© 2009 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)