City Printer Used Shop for Private Work

The supervisor of the City of San Diego’s print shop used city equipment to print free brochures, billing statements and stationery for a La Jolla veterinarian during the last three years, The Times has learned.

The veterinarian said in an interview that he provided free treatment for two cats owned by the print shop manager, D. Michael Richards, in exchange for the printing work.

Police have investigated the use of city typesetting, photography and offset printing equipment for that work, as well as for the printing of private business cards for a city secretary.

But city administrators said Richards is unlikely to face any criminal charges or discipline because the violations do not involve theft of city property.

“It’s poor judgment more than anything else,” said Sgt. Joe Ramsey, who investigated the allegations. “It’s nothing criminal, nothing major.”

City Manager John Lockwood said he would consider the matter “serious” if Richards received “something of value in return for using city equipment or supplies. That is the worst case.”

Richards denied that he received compensation for the printing work in the form of free treatment for his pets.

“That is incorrect,” Richards said. “I have pets I have brought to the vet, but I have not gotten free services.”

However, Dr. Bruce Reed Lindsey said that, for three years, he provided free annual check-ups worth at least $180 for two cats owned by Richards. In exchange, Lindsey said, Richards agreed to print a wide variety of stationery work, including his monthly newsletter “Paw Prints,” envelopes and registration forms.

“It was sporadic,” Lindsey said in a telephone interview. “On a number of occasions, I have offered to pay him for it. He never wished to be reimbursed because I take care of his cats. He figures the cost of supplies and time is equivalent to the value of services I have done for his animals.”

Lindsey said Richards was a paying customer before they began to exchange services. The veterinarian estimated that the printing jobs involved 200 to 500 copies.

But The Times obtained a copy of a memo to Richards on the veterinarian’s stationery that said: “Mike, This is a paste-up of how we would like the new ones. Perhaps 1,000 to start unless we find something different. We can get more. Bruce.”

A San Diego print shop estimated that a single order of 500 copies of the newsletter would cost $100, including typesetting and printing.

Lindsey said he could not estimate how often he relied on Richards to print his business stationery. He said he recently began using a private printing shop because of the delay in getting Richards to do the printing on city equipment.

“It’s hard to get too excited about it,” Lindsey said. “My understanding is Mike did stuff on his own time after hours and paid for the materials.”

But a city print shop employee told police he was assigned by Richards to print the materials during normal work hours, according to Barbara Singley, the city copier management administrator. Singley brought the initial complaints about Richards, who is her boss, to police.

Richards, who said he had been ordered by his supervisor not to comment on the matter, acknowledged that the print shop does not accept work from private firms. He said that Singley was in the process of being fired.

“She has got to dig something up to take everything down with her,” Richards said.

Singley, a city employee for 15 years, faces discipline and possible firing for allegedly “not performing her work as required on a timely basis,” said a city administrator.

Singley said she first learned of the alleged improprieties while talking with fellow employees in the print shop. She said she found a file folder with copies of printing jobs produced for the veterinarian and others, including a secretary who had private business cards printed.

Singley denied that she raised the allegations against Richards because she is facing disciplinary action. She said she was encouraged to file a complaint by a friend who works as a sergeant for the Harbor Police.

“They are saying sour grapes,” Singley said. “I was told by a police sergeant that I had a moral obligation (to come forward) if I knew there was misappropriation of public funds.”

The city’s ethics code prohibits “the private use of city labor, equipment, materials and supplies,” said Deputy City Atty. Rudolph Hradecky. He said that penalties range from “a reprimand to termination or ‘Just don’t do it again,’ depending on the seriousness.”

Ramsey, the police officer who investigated the matter, said: “I’m through with the investigation and there’s nothing criminal about anything. It probably would be just an administrative problem.” Ramsey would not comment on his investigative report, which has been completed and passed on to the chain of command in the Police Department.

Jack Thorpe, head of the city’s Purchasing Department who oversees print shop operations, agreed with Ramsey’s assessment.

“It’s just a misuse of city equipment on a couple of occasions,” Thorpe said. “It appears it would be a minor thing. The main thing I would want to do is see that something like this never happens again in the print shop or any other department in the city. The way it looks now, it’s just an administrative problem I could take care of within my own department.”

The timing of the allegations--nearly three months after Lockwood reprimanded Police Chief Bill Kolender and Assistant Chief Bob Burgreen for improprieties that included using city personnel and equipment for personal reasons--is “important,” the city manager said.

In the wake of the reprimands, Lockwood said, he issued a memo to all department managers warning them to “think twice about everything we do.” Lockwood said he understood that Richards had not printed any private stationery in the last year.

Singley, however, said she was told by a city employee that registration forms had been printed for the veterinarian as recently as December.

“City equipment and city material and city personnel should not be used for private purposes on city business,” Lockwood said. “Whether it’s legal or illegal is beside the point. We shouldn’t be doing it if business practice and public opinion think it is inappropriate.”

Lockwood said he will review the Richards’ case after he receives a police report.