RTD Halts Probe for Missing Parts

Record-keeping at the RTD is so flawed that an internal investigation into whether bus parts were stolen had to be dropped because officials can neither produce the parts nor show conclusively that they are missing, according to a new audit released Friday.

The audit by RTD Inspector General Ernesto Fuentes backs up an outside study of the parts system that found major problems last January, but the new audit suggests that allegations of theft by employees may never be resolved.

Accusations of theft were first raised by district employees last year after The Times reported that the RTD could not account for the whereabouts of all its parts. Although RTD computers said the parts were stored in a non-existent warehouse, more than $1.2 million in parts were actually missing or stolen.

Parts Could Not be Found

The audit released Friday said that a yearlong attempt to test the record-keeping system in one of the district’s maintenance divisions--by tracing and locating certain key parts--largely failed, making theft impossible to prove. Many of the parts could not be found, but incomplete computer records left it unclear whether the parts were stolen, simply misplaced or even had been installed on buses.

“Although inquiry into the theft allegation was attempted, it was abandoned because of the inaccurate records. With no reliable (records) it was not possible to even validate the basic premise . . . that the parts were no longer in district possession,” the audit concluded.

In one case, the RTD computers counted 223 bus transmissions issued in a year in RTD Division 10, where the audit was conducted. But after checking at several locations, auditors could only account for 33 of the transmissions.

The situation was similar for starters, alternators, turbochargers and other expensive hardware needed by RTD mechanics to keep buses running.

“Significant numbers of items could not be traced and their eventual use or placement was also unknown,” the audit concluded.

Several former RTD employees have been charged with parts theft in the last year, despite complaints by prosecutors that flawed RTD records have slowed the criminal investigation. Despite the conclusion that theft could be hard to prove, the RTD audit said that the criminal investigations were continuing.

The new audit blamed the accountability problems on “poor records and uncoordinated district practices” used to handle the parts. The audit also noted that the inventory problems had been pointed out to upper management, “but apparently received lackluster response.”

Lack of parts has been blamed by some RTD employees for keeping too many buses off the road and eroding service to customers of the large Southern California Rapid Transit District.