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Methuen city councilor says more background checks are 'sorely needed'

By J.J. Huggins
Staff writer
Published: May 19, 2008

METHUEN — In light of recent cases of school workers getting busted for drugs, gambling and theft, City Councilor John Cronin says officials should check public employees' criminal records more often.

"I think this is sorely needed," Cronin said.

The School Department checks the criminal offense record information (CORI) and sex offender registry information (SORI) for its 950 employees every three years, which state law requires, officials said.

Cronin is considering creating a proposal that, if passed, would require officials to do background checks every year or two. He noted there is such a policy at Greater Lawrence Technical School, where he works.

"I know I sign off every two years to allow them to do a check on me," he said.

Methuen Superintendent Jeanne Whitten recently said she didn't know the head custodian at Comprehensive Grammar School, Beth Reuter, was caught with cocaine and is on probation. Police watched Reuter buy 2.8 grams of cocaine from a suspected drug dealer at The Loop while her own children waited in her sport utility vehicle last August, a police report said.

Whitten could not be reached for comment for this story. As far as Mayor William Manzi knows, Reuter still has her job. If she was fired, Manzi said, he would expect to have heard about it. He is the chairman of the School Committee.

School officials check the criminal record of anyone they're considering hiring, and then they continue to check workers' backgrounds every three years. Officials check out bus drivers, volunteers and chaperones every year, according to Whitten's secretary, Marsha Iannalfo.

Officials do more frequent criminal background checks on those people because there is so much turnover in those positions, Iannalfo said, speaking on behalf of Whitten, who was away at the end of last week.

Aside from Reuter, at least three other school employees have had run-ins with police lately.

Police in Salem, N.H., charged Brenna Matseas, a Methuen School Department bookkeeper, with two counts of selling cocaine last July. Matseas is appealing to her former union to get her job back.

Former Comprehensive Grammar School janitor Eugene Casey pleaded guilty last year to a charge of using a telephone for gambling after police busted a gambling ring that was handling up to $500,000 in wagers a week. He is appealing to the state's Civil Service Commission to get his job back, and he has a hearing scheduled for May 27.

More recently, police charged Timony Grammar School program assistant Dolores Silva with false use of a credit card under $250, larceny under $250 and forgery. Silva used her co-worker's debit card to buy beer, gas and coffee on April 10, a police report said. Silva said she resigned after the incident.

"From what I understand, some of the people that have been involved are extremely good workers. Whatever circumstance it is, I don't know," Cronin said, referring to employees facing charges.

Cronin wants officials to do criminal background checks on both school and city employees.

The city does not do the research on all of its employees, Manzi said. But Cronin's idea has merit, he said.

"We're going to start looking at that," the mayor said.

Officials will have to work out the legal logistics and come up with a policy. One of the things they need to figure out is what to do if they find an employee with a clean work record who has a criminal charge from 10 years ago, Manzi said.

What, if anything, would the city do to the person?

"There are some human resources roads you have to be careful of," Manzi said.