While you cannot fault Sheepshead Bay High social studies teacher Thomas Everett for his honesty, we seriously wonder what he was thinking when he asked to take time off in order to serve time in jail. Everett's written request stated that he had to deal with "problems with the state of New Jersey judicial system," and naturalLy the Department of Ed's investigators investigated, finding out that Everett was a disbarred New Jersey lawyer, who had been arrested for swindling $1.4 million as the executor of estates of old ladies he "represented in New Jersey nursing homes." He actually robbed old ladies! Okay, Everett claims he didn't keep track of his billable hours - apparently a million dollars worth of billable hours. What's interesting is that Everett was hired by the city in 2003, admitting that he was being investigated, but no charges had been filed yet, according to reports, so the Department of Education didn't (didn't need to?) raise eyebrows. Now Everett will be fired, probably because, as the NY Times says, he didn't report the conviction - not just because of the conviction itself. And Special Commissioner of Investigations Richard Condon says, "If he had come up with a good reason, even if it wasn't true, but one that passed the smell test, he probably would have been home free."
The teachers' union tells the Times Everett was a great teacher and should be allowed to return to teach; maybe Everett could impart life lessons to his students. And this is just the latest in a long line of public school teachers trying to keep their side projects going - remember the teacher who claimed sick days when she was actually conducting an orchestra (she was found out by her principal who was listening to one of her performances!)? And how could you forget about the teacher by day, wrestler by night, Matthew Kaye?
