Politics

ST. PAUL (AP) ― The absence of a Minnesota Department of Transportation emergency manager in the hours and days following the Minneapolis bridge collapse led to confusion over who was in charge of the agency's response, a new report says.
The report Wednesday from the legislative auditor also found that Sonia Morphew Pitt, who was fired earlier this month as director of Homeland Security and Emergency Management for MnDOT, improperly billed the state for at least $26,000 in unauthorized expenses and improper pay.

The case will now be examined for possible criminal prosecution.

Pitt was at a conference in Boston when the bridge collapsed on Aug. 1. She stayed on the East Coast for almost two weeks more.

In the auditor's report, both MnDOT and Pitt come under fire: Pitt for racking up excessive expenses and the agency for not adequately supervising her.

The auditor's criticism went beyond insufficient accounting controls that let Pitt's expenses pass, and addressed her absence after the bridge catastrophe. The audit cited an unidentified senior MnDOT official as saying Pitt showed "poor judgment" in not returning to Minnesota as soon as the bridge fell.

"However, MnDOT officials shared in that poor judgment by not adequately fulfilling their supervisory responsibilities," the report said. "They should have been more diligent in finding out what Ms. Pitt was doing in Washington, D.C. and assessing the effectiveness of her work away from the scene of the emergency."

Legislative Auditor Jim Nobles said Pitt's absence defied common sense, noting that other employees voluntarily interrupted vacations to pitch in.

"She should have returned in our view," he said. "She was not asked to, she chose not to."

An internal MnDOT investigation released earlier this month alleged that a personal relationship between Pitt and a Federal Highway Administration manager in Washington took precedence over her Minnesota duties.

According to documents released as part of MnDOT's internal review, Pitt told investigators she helped manage the bridge response while in Boston and Washington via phone and e-mail. She said her supervisor never demanded that she return to Minnesota.

Pitt hasn't responded to repeated requests for comment from The Associated Press, including a phone message Wednesday. Her attorney didn't immediately respond to messages.

MnDOT Commissioner Carol Molnau responded in a letter attached to the audit that new expense controls were being put in place.

"Ms. Pitt clearly violated the trust we place in MnDOT employees," she wrote. "We are disappointed in this unfortunate set of circumstances, but we feel these misuses are not widespread."

The audit provided new ammunition for Molnau's critics. Many lawmakers have urged her to step aside since the bridge collapse, saying she has tried to run her department on the cheap.

"The findings raise fresh doubts about the ability of those in charge to handle the challenges facing MnDOT," said House Speaker Margaret Anderson Kelliher, a Democrat. She urged Gov. Tim Pawlenty again to replace Molnau.

Legislators briefed on the audit by Nobles during a committee hearing said it's time to peer up the chain of command and hold more senior MnDOT leaders responsible. The report doesn't identify the Pitt supervisors who could have blown the whistle sooner.

"I'd like to know who screwed up," said Sen. Don Betzold, DFL-Fridley. "Who dropped the ball here?"

Deputy transportation commissioner Lisa Freese said the Department of Employee Relations is reviewing Pitt's supervision and could recommend discipline of her superiors.

Republican Rep. Mike Beard of Shakopee said legislators gunning for Molnau need to realize that Pitt's position was several steps down the leadership ladder in an agency of 4,700 employees.

Nobles said he would launch a broader investigation of MnDOT employees' travel expenses, credit card and cell phone use.

Meanwhile, Pitt's case has been referred to the attorney general to recover the money and the Ramsey County attorney's office for possible criminal prosecution.

The audit said the state incurred more than $11,500 in "unauthorized, unreasonable or inappropriate expenses." It also said that more than $14,500 of work she was paid for should have been recorded as personal leave.

Money that Pitt would have received for unused leave or vacation time -- estimated at $11,100 -- is being frozen.

The probe looked at MnDOT records from July 2005 to September 2007.

The Transportation Department fired Pitt on Nov. 9. She had been placed on administrative leave a couple of months earlier.

The auditor interviewed employees he didn't name in the report who said "Pitt's presence would have been useful at the bridge site because there was confusion about who was in charge as MnDOT's lead emergency response person." It also cited an employee in Pitt's office who worked for 48 straight hours after the collapse, although it wasn't clear that Pitt's absence caused that.

Molnau's letter didn't address the audit reports allegations of confusion after the bridge collapse.

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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.

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