Longevity Pay – Everett Leader Herald

Mayor Must Repay $180,000

The mayor is adept at turning lies into truths he does not wish to have questioned.

One such lie turned into truth by the mayor is the $180,000 he received in longevity payments which should not have totaled more than $10,000.

Bottom line: the mayor owes the taxpayers of this city $180,000.

How can we be sure of this?

Because he refused to task the $40,000 longevity this year. He didn’t take the payment this year because he was advised not to take it by lawyers.

He didn’t take the money because taking it would have created a further legal problem to the financial problem he is now facing having taken $180,000 that was not his to take.

The mayor said in a speech at the Chamber of Commerce recently that taking the money from him, the $40,000 a year longevity payment, can be construed as a garnishment of his wages.

Wrong.

The money was never his to take.

He knew this. He understood this. It was as clear to him as a $12,000 a year car allowance given to him by the city council he didn’t need. After all, he didn’t have a car.

The question is, what do you do when you awaken and find $40,000 in your checking account when you’re only supposed to get $2,500?

Most of us who are not pathological liars driven by greed would understand instantly – something is wrong.

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Mayor Tries Clearing Up Questions About Longevity; Creates More Questions Than Answers

A large crowed filled the council chamber Monday night. (Photo By Paula Steriti)

By Josh Resnek

The mayor made a surprise public appearance at city hall after being largely absent from public life for nearly a month.

The mayor read from what is believed to be a prepared lawyer’s text detailing how the $180,000 of longevity payments made to him during the past four years was a matter of interpretation – and that it is the Capones of the world who have it wrong and it is the mayor who has it right.

“I have not been hiding from this issue,” the mayor told the city council.

“I have done nothing wrong,” he said sternly in attempting to answer Councilor Mike Marchese’s questions.

“Nothing was hidden or concealed,” he told Marchese and the council.

What the mayor failed to mention is why in the budget that did not detail last year’s twin $20,000 paydowns given to him for vacation days and sick days that amounted to $40,000 and were then distributed to him without his name mentioned in the city’s award winning budget as longevity.

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Mayor Must Pay Back Misappropriation of $180,000 Undeserved Longevity

By John Puopolo

After several months, the city council finally reduced the mayor’s bonus from $40,000 a year to $1,700 where it belongs.

The mayor continued to push for $2,500 until the very end Monday night. difference.

One would think that the ongoing negative publicity, on top of the misappropriation for $180,000, that the mayor would opt for a more humble and reasonable resolution.

Instead he pressed forward prolonging the division he created for the extra $800, and keeping the misappropriated $180,000. The negative publicity this has brought on the mayor, the city and city council is of no concern to him. At this point it came down to $800. Embarrassing!

The mayor never responded to the city council’s request to explain how the longevity went from the agreed to $2,500 annually to $40,000 in violation of the documented longevity plan. Who decided this? Who initiated the $40,000 payment and why? Why wasn’t City Council informed of the inflated amounts? How can you take action addressing those responsible with no answers from the Mayor for how & why this took place?

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Mayor’s $40,000 Yearly Longevity Payment Cut Down to $1,700

Capone Claims Payments to Mayor a Fraud And A Theft; “The Money Must Be Paid Back”

By Josh Resnek

Mayor Carlo DeMaria’s hidden longevity payment of $40,000 a year was scaled down to $1,700 by the City Council Monday night.

This was a convincing change of direction for the city council led by first termer Councilor at Large Stephanie Smith. She authored the motion that the city council approved.

The vote was 6-5.

A motion offered by the mayor’s cousin, Councilor Anthony DiPierro, to maintain the mayor’s longevity payment at $2,500 had no traction with his colleagues.

In a surprising move, DiPierro voted against his own motion.

The motion failed by a 9-2 vote.

This also represented the power in the uprising now going on in this city with new voices entering the political arena and having a profound effect.

John Puopolo is one of those voices.

His strong anti-longevity stance played out week to week during the public speaking portion of the city council meetings for the past two months has shown its power.

He is aided by Paula Sterite, and local realtor Sandy Juliano, whose voices have also been heard.

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Hidden Longevity Payment For Mayor DeMaria Revealed After Investigation

By Paula Steriti and Josh Resnek

Mayor DeMaria was allowed to cash in sick days and vacation days twice and received $20,000 “buy-back”payments twice on separate dates and then was issued a $40,000 longevity payment from a Human Resources money account without the payment being noted in the city budget.

A Leader Herald investigation reveals that the two $20,000 “buy-back” payments were credited to the mayor.

The first $20,000 payment was credited to the mayor on January 21, 2021.

The second $20,000 payment was credited to the mayor on January April 29, 2021

An investigation into how and why the payment was made began with a search of the city budget.

The payment did not show up in the mayor’s office budget section.

Following a public information request, the payment was shown to have been made from a Human Resources account – not with a $40,000 entry, rather, with two $20,000 entries, and there was no name attached to the payments, according to official spread sheets provided by the city of Everett.

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