By Allan Lengel
ticklethewire.com
WASHINGTON – A former office manager for the late Sen. Edward Kennedy could be off to prison.
A federal jury in Washington on Tuesday convicted Ngozi T. Pole, 40,of Waldorf, Md., of stealing more than $75,000 by paying himself unauthorized bonuses, the Justice Department said. Specifically, he was convicted of five counts of wire fraud and one count of theft of government property.
As office manager, authorities said, Pole’s responsibilities included transmitting salary information to the Senate Disbursing Office in order to adjust the pay of employees in the senator’s office.
Authorities charged that Pole beginning in at least 2003 and continuing until January 2007, repeatedly submitted paperwork causing the Senate to pay him larger bonus payments than had been approved by either the chief of staff or Senator Kennedy.
Pole hid the unauthorized payments “by repeatedly transmitting information to the chief of staff that falsely showed that he received only those payments that had been authorized,” authorities said.
“Today, a federal jury found Mr. Pole guilty of using his position as a Congressional staffer to steal more than $75,000 of government money,” Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer of the Criminal Division said in a statement.
“Employees of Congress are entrusted with performing their duties honestly and ethically. While hundreds of them live up to that important duty every day, we will, as today’s verdict shows, hold accountable those few who use their positions to illegally enrich themselves.”
Authorities said Kennedy’s staff fully cooperated in the probe. Sentencing is set for July 14.
