When you hire a convicted felon to run a lucrative state program, don't be surprised

Doglips · 04-29-2004, 01:41 PM

Convicted Felon Running Nebraska's Tobacco Program
Auditor: Mueller Mismanaged Thousands Of Dollars

POSTED: 8:39 am CDT April 29, 2004
UPDATED: 10:10 am CDT April 29, 2004

LINCOLN, Neb. -- The state of Nebraska hired a man convicted of theft to oversee a million dollar program, while he was still serving time for his offense. Now, the state can't account for thousands of dollars, and hundreds of thousands more may have been mismanaged, according to the state auditor.

Rock Mueller (pictured, left) got a job coordinating Nebraska's tobacco cessation program in 2001 while he was in the state penitentiary for theft.

"He was first hired while an inmate in the penitentiary on work release," said state auditor Kate Witek. "He was hired for $55,000 a year."

Witek was asked to audit the tobacco program by the state's new director of Health and Human Services. She turned up evidence that Mueller was paid by a contract firm that he picked to create the Nebraska Tobacco Quit Line. Pioneer, a company out of Salt Lake City, was not the lowest bidder for the project, Witek said, but Mueller chose them to do the work, then received about $78,000 from the firm for expenses and marketing fees.

Witek's report shows that Mueller "either made the handwritten alterations to the vendor bid scores or was aware of the alterations" to make sure Pioneer got the contract.

Separately, Witek (pictured, right) said her office can't account for some of the money given to high school programs for smoking prevention programs.

"He didn't do any monitoring of where the money went in Lexington, $20,000 went to someone for consulting fees (for which) there's no documentation," Witek said.

Mueller's wife works in the personnel department for the state of Nebraska.

Ron Ross is the one who actually hired Mueller while still the director of Health and Human Services. Ross has since moved on to be state treasurer. Ross replacement at HHS asked for the audit of the tobacco program.

Mueller was reached by phone and told KETV NewsWatch 7 to contact his lawyer, who was unavailable for comment.
Copyright 2004 by TheOmahaChannel.com. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

04-29-2004, 01:41 PM	#1
Doglips Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Cocoa Florida Posts: 9,089	When you hire a convicted felon to run a lucrative state program, don't be surprised Convicted Felon Running Nebraska's Tobacco Program Auditor: Mueller Mismanaged Thousands Of Dollars POSTED: 8:39 am CDT April 29, 2004 UPDATED: 10:10 am CDT April 29, 2004 LINCOLN, Neb. -- The state of Nebraska hired a man convicted of theft to oversee a million dollar program, while he was still serving time for his offense. Now, the state can't account for thousands of dollars, and hundreds of thousands more may have been mismanaged, according to the state auditor. Rock Mueller (pictured, left) got a job coordinating Nebraska's tobacco cessation program in 2001 while he was in the state penitentiary for theft. "He was first hired while an inmate in the penitentiary on work release," said state auditor Kate Witek. "He was hired for $55,000 a year." Witek was asked to audit the tobacco program by the state's new director of Health and Human Services. She turned up evidence that Mueller was paid by a contract firm that he picked to create the Nebraska Tobacco Quit Line. Pioneer, a company out of Salt Lake City, was not the lowest bidder for the project, Witek said, but Mueller chose them to do the work, then received about $78,000 from the firm for expenses and marketing fees. Witek's report shows that Mueller "either made the handwritten alterations to the vendor bid scores or was aware of the alterations" to make sure Pioneer got the contract. Separately, Witek (pictured, right) said her office can't account for some of the money given to high school programs for smoking prevention programs. "He didn't do any monitoring of where the money went in Lexington, $20,000 went to someone for consulting fees (for which) there's no documentation," Witek said. Mueller's wife works in the personnel department for the state of Nebraska. Ron Ross is the one who actually hired Mueller while still the director of Health and Human Services. Ross has since moved on to be state treasurer. Ross replacement at HHS asked for the audit of the tobacco program. Mueller was reached by phone and told KETV NewsWatch 7 to contact his lawyer, who was unavailable for comment. Copyright 2004 by TheOmahaChannel.com. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.