Adirondack store resold the $.75 metal signs for up to $168
By Gwendolyn Craig
The state Department of Environmental Conservation is reminding its employees of its ethics and decommissioning policies after the state Offices of the Inspector General found a forester stole trail signs, which her boyfriend sold to a Keene Valley store.
The incident was among a number of letters addressed to the heads of various state agencies published online this week to show recent Inspector General findings. This letter was addressed to former DEC Commissioner Basil Seggos on Dec. 20, 2023.
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On Nov. 30, 2022, the IG’s Office received a complaint alleging a Keene Valley store was selling state boundary signs. During the investigation, the IG found the DEC made the metal signs at two regional shops at a cost of about $.75 each. The store was selling them for up to $168.
A DEC forester took five or six trail signs, some that said “Wild Forest” and “Forest Preserve” to hang in her boyfriend’s barn, the IG’s office found. It redacted the forester’s name and work region. The letter also did not specify the store.
The boyfriend took some of the signs, which he believed the DEC had discarded, and mounted them on wood. He sold them to a store in Keene Valley, according to the letter. The store manager told the IG’s Office she had sold all but one. The DEC retrieved the remaining sign.
Inspector General Lucy Lang wrote that she recommended the DEC review its sign storage inventory and process for decommissioning signs. She also recommended the department remind employees that they cannot use state property for personal use.
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The DEC did not say if the forester had been reprimanded. The DEC said it has since “provided direction to staff to process decommissioned/surplus signs when necessary and updated internal controls over signs to limit access to authorized employees.” Employees also undergo ethics training.
The IG is a watchdog of government agencies, investigating corruption, fraud and abuse.
Top photo: A state Department of Environmental Conservation forest preserve sign. Photo by Gwendolyn Craig
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