Attorney General says cleaner contractors pose security risk
CHRIS BLANK
Mon, Mar. 26, 2007


JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. - The attorney general's office barred contract janitors from its offices Monday after discovering that some of the cleaners had criminal backgrounds and lacked state-issued identifications.

Deputy Attorney General Karen King Mitchell accused Gov. Matt Blunt's administration of lax contract oversight and putting sensitive information at risk by not performing the background checks.

The attorney general's action comes just weeks after Blunt stripped a janitorial service of its state contract for employing illegal immigrants.

"Your contracting practices still allow contract employees after-hours access to state buildings without adequate security measures and background checks," Mitchell wrote.

A spokesman for Attorney General Jay Nixon said the office conducted its own spot background checks last week after "there were incidents that had occurred that raised red flags." Spokesman Scott Holste said the checks were focused on criminal backgrounds and not immigration status.

Mitchell, in her letter, said the checks showed some of the cleaners had been arrested several times, including for identity theft and fraudulent use of credit card information. One of the workers had been fired elsewhere for "unacceptable conduct concerning female co-workers."

When the spot checks discovered that three of four workers lacked identification and a Missouri State Highway Patrol background check, the attorney general's office decided to bar state contractors from cleaning its building, citing concerns about potential security breaches.

The letter said litigation and investigation records including financial, tax, health and driver records were threatened.

A spokeswoman for Gov. Matt Blunt did not immediately return a call seeking comment.

Earlier this month, the governor announced he was pulling the contract of Oklahoma-based Sam's Janitorial Services for allegedly hiring illegal immigrants. He then signed an executive order directing state agencies to review state contractors to ensure they hire employees allowed to work in the United States.

Sam's Janitorial Services has received $4 million since the 2002 fiscal year and had nine contracts to perform custodial work in Jefferson City, Columbia and Kansas City.

At a news conference earlier this month, Blunt praised Vernon Morris, the manager of custodial operations for state facilities. Blunt said Morris had noticed inconsistencies in the contract employees' work documents and informed Capitol Police.

The attorney general's office on Monday released e-mails sent by Arlene Boessen, a fiscal officer for the attorney general, to several employees in the Office of Administration, including Morris.

The first e-mail, time-stamped at 9:26 a.m. on Jan. 17, says that "it has come to our attention that Sam's Janitorial, the cleaning company for the Broadway Building, is not paying their workers, not withholding state and federal income tax, and hiring illegal aliens."

Rebecca Brinkley, a buyer for the Office of Administration, responded about 90 minutes later that the department would be following up.

At the news conference, Blunt said the March federal immigration raids were the product of a multi-week investigation.


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