Stadium Inquiry Turns Up No Criminal Wrongdoing

A city investigation into allegations of falsified payroll records and kickbacks at San Diego Jack Murphy Stadium turned up no evidence of criminal wrongdoing, according to a memo released Tuesday by the city manager’s office.

The investigation is the second in two years to be conducted at the stadium by the city manager’s office, and it began in February after a series of allegations of improprieties at the stadium, said Jack McGrory, assistant city manager. The first investigation at the stadium concluded in June, 1986, and called for stricter controls over inventory, but found no criminal conduct.

Although no criminal charges resulted from the most recent investigation, McGrory said Tuesday that two city employees at the stadium have been disciplined because city auditors established that they ordered $200 in car shock absorbers, brakes and other equipment for installation in their personal automobiles. He declined to say what discipline was administered.

McGrory also said the investigation found that the city paid employees of the Pedus company, a stadium custodial and maintenance contractor, about $2,000 that it shouldn’t have. McGrory said Pedus will now conduct an investigation of its own.

The city manager’s office has also decided to stop providing stadium employees with free Padre tickets as a result of the investigation, although the probe found nothing wrong with the practice, the memo said.

Among the allegations for which investigators could find no proof:

- Payroll hours were padded for Pedus employees so that kickbacks could be given to Pedus and city supervisors.

- Service America gave food to stadium employees in return for services and supplies that were not billed to the catering company.

- A city supervisor scalped tickets to the Super Bowl.

- The city and Pedus were using illegal aliens to work at the stadium.