Inspectors General are (and should be) vital cogs in any governmental or organizational machine. Many federal agencies have them, state governments use them, and local governments depend on them. They bring to light the waste, fraud, and abuse that can permeate and be hidden so well at the local level they aren’t caught for years, and deprive localities of millions of dollars that could be used for needed city services.
Take for example the ongoing case in Richmond where Reginald Thomas, a former employee, over the course of several years set up three fake businesses and used city credit cards and purchase orders. The news of that scandal at City Hall, however, broke not from the release of an Inspector General (IG) report but because of Samuel Parker at the Times-Dispatch. When Parker first reported the story in May, he had uncovered almost $840,000 in highly questionable expenses (like $75,000 for custom cabinets). In June, Parker kept digging and reported the amount of alleged fraud had grown to $2 million that began in 2017 and apparently went undetected for eight years. Now that it is a known story and in the media but there are still invoices to be examined and uncovered and that amount could easily pole vault past $2 million. The city cut Parker’s FOIA requests off after that, but recently agreed to again allow him to examine other invoices related to the spending — but only after the Times-Dispatch sent a copy of a lawsuit they were preparing to file against the city.
That is why the not-so-distant history of the IG office and the recent turmoil this summer is something the city simply cannot afford to continue. IG Jim Osuna was fired/resigned/relieved by City Council in May at a surprise personnel meeting with no explanation or comment. This week, the latest news is that Craig Johnson, the former Deputy IG, is no longer with the city and, once again, no one knows why (personnel decisions are usually not commented on) and unsurprisingly, no one on City Council responded for comment.
Johnson would have been elevated to Interim-IG back in May; however, in the wake of Osuna’s exit, in a small office of only 6 staffers, most threatened to quit if Johnson was elevated and furiously objected to even an interim appointment.
Parker at the RTD also reported that Johnson received a tip at the office back in 2022 about the alleged $2 million (and counting) fraud by Thomas, but an investigation was not launched until March 2025. Parker noted that records he received show the fraudulent spending continued until at least December 2024 and the paper is still looking into other invoices. The Thomas investigation finally began just weeks before the Times-Dispatch submitted FOIA’s for records surrounding city payments to Thomas and two months before Osuna’s exit.
In late May, it was discovered Osuna was fired quickly following an alleged Human Resources (HR) complaint against him (with no details), but staffers told the media they never witnessed untoward behavior by Osuna and threatened to walk out over the firing. One staffer (in a tiny office) was not interviewed by the HR investigators for her perspective. Brittany Clift told the Times-Dispatch reported she was never witness to “unprofessional and concerning behavior” from Osuna and said he was an “exceptional leader.”
Last year was a notable and busy one for Osuna. You might recall the media uncovered that Osuna was told back in 2019 by City Council that, based on “legal guidance” from the then-City Attorney, the IG should not publish the official reports on the city’s web site (as required by law). When Dean Mirshahi at WRIC uncovered the story, the current City Attorney denied the 2019 advice was ever given (and refused to even answer a question if city code required the publication of reports online – it does). But then, there was suddenly miraculous new “legal advice” that posting the 17 reports that had been withheld was fine and they were posted within two weeks.
Also over the last year were stories about the “tête-à-tête” between IG Osuna and City Attorney Laura Drewry (both hired and fired by Council, not the Mayor). Osuna told the city Audit Committee in July 2024 that his report on the Finance Department failing to advise businesses when they had credits on their accounts had been shut down. It was a much talked about topic in the wake of the meals tax fiasco and the incompetence of the Finance Department leadership, and he was ready to release the report, but told the panel, “…legal advice has come back and said … [the credits issue] didn’t fall within the purview of the inspector general’s office.”
The city attorney’s office denied it told Osuna anything and city spokeswoman denied Osuna’s claim outright and said an investigation into the issue had been completed and had cleared the city of wrongdoing (but didn’t identify the agency that conducted that investigation).
With all the drama, it should come as little surprise that Tyler Layne reported in May that the investigator appointed to temporarily run the office in the wake of Osuna’s firing expressed “deep concerns about the future of the office. We may be headed in a totally different direction after [Osuna’s] departure,” he wrote, adding that the remaining employees were “demoralized.”
Those who don’t want any bad news to come out would probably be quietly enthused that the IG’s office could be headed in a new direction, one where they are not able to dig around and/or put out reports that don’t read or sound good in the media (because they aren’t good). However, if you are a resident who wonders why your meals and property taxes are so high, you’re probably not as thrilled that the office tasked with uncovering the waste, fraud, and abuse so the money can be used properly is being marginalized (if it’s not going to be allowed to wither away outright).
The IG office was created to be separate from the City Auditor, which used to serve both roles. It was split on purpose because, sadly, both positions are extremely busy. The separation was created for a good reason, but if the rumors are true, some on City Council are now angling to reconsolidate both offices back under one person just a few years after they spilt them up. One could make the case the reason for trying to reconsolidate the two is not because the independent office of Inspector General wasn’t working — but because it was working too well.
City Council appoints and dismisses the IG, the Auditor, and the City Attorney. They appointed Foster Curtiss as interim-IG after Osuna’s departure, and while he only joined the city’s IG office earlier this year, he spent 22 years with the Naval Criminal Investigative Service’s (NCIS) Office of the Inspector General and rose to Division Chief. The real question is, will the city’s governing make a an appointment and a public pronouncement sooner rather than later they will hire the best person for IG and fully support the office’s mission and let them do the job as allowed by state law and city code? Lord knows, there is not a shortage of work.
In her letter to Council in May, the investigator Clift wrote that the city “has allowed ample fraud, waste, and abuse to accumulate into the millions” and noted Osuna wanted to “correct the lack of oversight, corruption, and financial loss.” It’s impossible to find anyone who doesn’t think City Hall can use some tightening up in the waste, fraud and abuse department, and equally hard to find anyone opposed to tasking someone to correct it.
At the Audit Committee last December, Osuna said, “Taking action stopped the misuse of resources and communicated that such behavior is unacceptable. Past cases show that addressing these issues can help recover missing resources and improve employee awareness. The IG is committed to protecting whistleblowers, leading to more reports. A new state law encourages people to report concerns without fear of retaliation. To promote transparency, the IG is making a change to share substantiated and unsubstantiated reports with the public.”
Some people may not have liked where Osuna was looking, but if the elected officials and City Hall can’t hire and get behind someone with fearlessness in favor of a lackey to keep a lid on the waste, fraud, and abuse, then we are all en route to Chicago-style corruption trouble. It’s a big loss for the city Osuna is gone. Now we have to find someone who is as unafraid of the opposing side as Elliot Ness (like Osuna was) and ready to stay the course instead of searching for someone who is, shall we say, easily persuadable and prone to suggestion instead of being steeled with a backbone and conviction.
The shenanigans and B.S. that have surrounded the politically driven desire to pretend waste, fraud and abuse don’t exist at City Hall needs to end, stat. Former Mayor Stoney is no longer on the ballot this fall, so it is time for City Hall to stop acting like nothing is wrong and start addressing the problems that need to be uncovered and fixed. Politicians think the bad press hurts them, but it’s the unending corruption and misuse of public dollars — and the lack of desire or will to stop it — that has a far greater negative impact on those who need the help the most.
The fear of trying to hide or minimize bad press and seek cover for corruption should not overwhelm and prevent us from dealing with and rooting out the sometimes unpleasant truth and fixing it for the better of the community. If City Council and Mayor Avula take the former attitude instead of the latter, their legacy will be similar to Mayor Stoney’s.
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