FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
SUNDAY, AUGUST 18, 2014
CONTACT:
ERIC EPSTEIN
ROCK THE CAPITAL
717-635-8615
GENE STILP
717-829-5600
PRESS CONFERENCE ON TOMALIS’ PENSION AND POSSIBLE PDE COVERUP
DATE AND TIME: MONDAY, AUGUST 18, at 11:30 am
LOCATION: CAPITOL ROTUNDA
TOPIC: 1. RON TOMALIS’ PENSION INVESTIGATION.
TOPIC 2. INVESTIGATIVE FILINGS TO FEDERAL AND STATE AGENCIES ON DUMARESQ INVOLVEMENT IN GHOST EMPLOYEE SCANDAL.
Good government activists Eric Epstein of Rock the Capital and Gene Stilp today have asked the State Employees Retirement System to formally request that Governor Tom Corbett and the Pennsylvania Department of Education provide documentation that conclusively proves Mr. Tomalis actually produced the work the Governor and Secretary of Education claim he produced during his 15 month stint as a Special Adviser for Higher Education in the Department of Education.
In response to the Pittsburgh Post Gazette’s Right To Know requests, it appears that Mr. Tomalis did not produce a work product, only sent five e-mails in a year, averaged one phone call a day, and had no reimbursements for official business. In addition, key educators and educational institutions across the state maintained they had little contact with the Special Advisor to Governor Corbett.
Eric Epstein said, “The pension boost that resulted from the extended time as Special Advisor to Governor Corbett has all the markings of a special favor to Mr. Tomalis.” Mr. Tomalis’ additional 15 months of service allowed him to exploit the “footprint rule” Rock the Capital obtained retirement data on Mr. Tomalis through a Right to Know response from SERS on August 14, 2014. Epstein added, “Mt. Tomalis’ extended time of employment – allowing him to be eligible for a 2.5 multiplier – is a red flag that this case and has to be investigated.”
Gene Stilp said, “The State Employee Retirement System can only process the data it is provided. Today we are taking the unusual step of asking SERS to also request investigative agencies in Pennsylvania to look into this case. We have reason to believe that waste, fraud and abuse of the process may all be involved in the last 15 months of Mr. Tomalis’ public service.”
In a separate action, Mr. Stilp filed five separate complaints and requests for investigation involving the alleged cover-up by Secretary Carolyn Dumaresq of Tom Corbett’s Special Adviser on Education and purported ghost employe Ron Tomalis. Mr Stilp’s complaints and requests were filed with the State Ethics Commission, the Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General, the Office of Inspector General,the U.S. Department of Education and the US Department of Justice.
Mr. Stilp is asking for Secretary Dumaresq to issue an apology for her actions and step down as Acting Secretary of Education.