A 56-year-old worker for the Department of Sanitation was forced to resign after he was caught accepting a $20 tip for carting off a big pile of wood, furniture, and other "bulk refuse" from a Queens resident. Lenworth Dixon, who had worked for the department since 1988, admitted in the public disposition that he pocketed the 20 bucks even though removal of the trash was "part of my official DSNY duties."
The City's Charter clearly states that "no public servant shall receive compensation from the city for performing any official duty or accept or receive any gratuity from any person whose interests may be affected by the the public servant's official action." Now we feel bad for plying Birdie with all that free birdseed.
According to a statement from the NYC Conflicts of Interest Board, Dixon agreed to retire from the department and pay a $1,500 fine. It's unclear how Dixon got caught, but the Daily News reports that the Sanitation Department has been known to install cameras on garbage trucks in an attempt to catch workers breaking rules.
“It is a harsh punishment, but they don’t tolerate taking money from the public,” said Harry Nespoli, president of the Sanitation Workers Union, tells the News. “We’re not allowed to take any money, even at Christmas time. We don’t work for the post office.”
Dixon's career-ending mistake comes six months after a pair of Sanitation workers were fined $2,000 each for accepting $5 tips for hauling off a big pile of trash in Queens.
