Ethics Commission releases second report on allegations
The state Ethics Commission released a second report on former Greene County school superintendent Charles Rembold last week, alleging he, among other charges, took kickbacks during his time as president of the Greene County Industrial Development Authority (GCIDA). According to the new report, Rembold, who pursued available grants for the GCIDA, recommended the GCIDA pay a friend to serve as grant evaluator in exchange for a kickback of a portion of the $30,000 fee.
Rembold had served as the head of the five-member board from Dec. 12, 1996, to June 16, 2004. He had resigned on the recommendation of the Greene County commissioners in June 2004 because of negative publicity over the first Ethics Commission report, according to the commission.
The 55-page report also includes allegations that Rembold violated the Ethics Act when he used district property to teach classes for an online university, took a computer from the GCIDA to his home to teach online classes, hired his son to develop a Web site for the GCIDA without opening the job to the public and failed to make financial disclosures during his time with both the GCIDA and the school district as required by law.
Rembold has agreed to pay a $14,000 fine within 30 days and is ordered not to seek or hold a public office or public employment, as well as not participate in the state or federal grant process in any way.
Rembold previously had been found in violation of the Ethics Act and fined for using his position as superintendent of the West Greene School District to obtain grants to fund the PULSE Program and to steer contracts to Kings Bridge Inc., a company for which Rembold served as a corporate officer and director.
Ethics Commission Executive Director John Contino said Rembold’s prior history “played a role” in penalties imposed in the second report.
“From a prosecution standpoint, we were adamant that the criteria in the order include that he never again holds public office in addition to the fines,” he said. “It is highly unusual for us to insist that someone not seek or hold public office again. That is not something that you will find typically in a commission order.”
While not a standard stipulation, never holding office again was something the investigators felt was necessary enough to make a “key element” in settling the case with Rembold, Contino said.
The case has also been referred to the state attorney general.
Nils Frederiksen, spokesman for state Attorney General Tom Corbett, said that Rembold could potentially face further criminal charges after pleading no contest last week to felony charges from his tenure as West Greene’s superintendent.
“If the Ethics Commission refers the matter to us, we will certainly review it,” he said. “To my knowledge we haven’t seen it. But it’s standard procedure for the commission to send a report to the attorney general if they feel there’s a potential breach of state law.”
According to the report, in 2003, while with the GCIDA, Rembold recommended the authority hire Prosocial Solutions Research of Chester, Va., as the evaluator for a $260,000 grant from the Benedum Foundation to fund Community Technology Centers at each of the county’s school districts.
In exchange for securing the grant money for Prosocial, Rembold wanted Stephen Ellsworth, who owns Prosocial and is a friend and colleague of Rembold, to pay him $9,000 of the $30,000 evaluator fee, the report said.
In all, the $30,000 would be split between Rembold; Ellsworth; Linda McCracken, director of the 21st Century Community Learning Center program; and R. Edgar Thacker, a former director at King’s Bridge.
According to the report, the GCIDA board chose Prosocial based solely on Rembold’s recommendation, as no other board member had previous knowledge of the company.
According to the report, McCracken, Ellsworth and Rembold were to receive $9,000 and Thacker was to receive $1,500. Another $900 would be used for taxes, while $600 would go to Prosocial.
The Ethics Commission filed an order against Ellsworth and fined him $1,000, but found no evidence that McCracken transmitted any money, Contino said, and because she is not a public official, she is not within the jurisdiction of the commission.
The report also charges that Rembold used Jefferson-Morgan School District equipment and computers for personal gain, routinely using his office computer to teach online classes as a professor for an online university.
Forensic computer evidence showed he used the district computer at least 150 times during regular school working hours and was paid $2,515.36 for teaching online classes during his work hours, where he had served as superintendent from Aug. 21, 2001, to Aug. 21, 2005.
Rembold did not inform the school board of his secondary employment, as is required in his contract, nor did he get permission to use his district computer to do so, according to the report.