Staff members cite conflicts of interest
PUBLIC SAFETY BUILDING — City Hall continued to make its case on Monday regarding the termination of Woodlawn Cemetery’s former funeral director.
Three city employees testified on Monday against Michael Steen, who was fired in September after three audits revealed the management of the cemetery’s finances was not in line with general accounting practices. Steen appealed City Hall’s decision to terminate him after a nine-month investigation concluded there was no criminal wrongdoing on his part.
Steen, who is appealing City Hall’s decision to fire him on the grounds his dismissal was unjust, is author of “Celebrity Death Certificates,” a book that highlights the lives and passings of some of Hollywood’s biggest stars.
Monday’s testimony was a continuation of a personnel board hearing that began in December. The hearing is set to continue at least through Tuesday, during which time Steen’s attorney, William Becker, is expected call on witnesses to make his client’s case.
In the lineup to testify are Steen and his domestic partner, who owned Woodlawn Monument, a company that received referrals from Steen and operated out of the home they shared, according to testimony.
Officials at City Hall haven’t said how much money is involved in the alleged financial irregularities at Woodlawn. They have, however, paid outside firms to conduct two audits. These, as well as the city’s own audit, have all shown discrepancies in Woodlawn’s financial books, officials say.
Woodlawn is a gated, tree-lined cemetery located between Pico Boulevard and Michigan Avenue, between 14th and 17th streets. City Hall purchased it in 1897.
More than 51,000 Santa Monicans have been interred on the 26.6-acre site, according to city records.
The cemetery brings in about $450,000 a year in revenue. Because Steen’s firing is a personnel matter, city officials won’t elaborate on circumstances surrounding the criminal investigation or his termination beyond what is said in the appeal hearing, which is public record.
Becker said City Hall may be partially to blame for the questionable circumstances surrounding Steen’s dismissal. Becker has suggested officials might have set up false expectations about Steen’s performance at the graveyard.
Evidence to support Becker’s position will be presented in forthcoming testimony, he said.
STEEN’S SUPPORT STAFF TESTIFIES On Monday, the personnel board heard from city employees, including Steen’s business assistant, Phyllis Romleski. Charged with clerical support and running the office when Steen was absent, Romleski worked with her former boss for more than a decade and described their working relationship as “good.”
However, she also said Steen’s work performance was not always “free of errors.”
Romleski was put on paid administrative leave, along with Steen, and later cleared of any wrongdoing. She has returned to work at City Hall and been transferred to another department.
Romleski described Steen’s supervisory style as “relaxed.” According to her testimony, Steen came and went as he pleased. He often dropped by the office in the mornings, worked for half an hour, then left, she said. Sometimes he said he’d be attending meetings at City Hall, but much of the time he was simply unaccounted for, according to Romleski.
Steen would return at lunchtime and resume working for a half an hour. Sometimes he didn’t return to the office until 4 p.m., around closing time, she said.
Meanwhile, Steen’s personal office, which was attached to the main one, was a mess, Romleski said. Paperwork was stacked a foot high above his desk, including material for his “Celebrity Death Certificates” series. Two birds, kept in a cage, were maintained by staff, Romleski said, since Steen only changed out the litter paper once a month.
Among the discrepancies cited by the city, Steen allegedly allowed families to pay on installment for graves and crypts, which goes against City Hall’s guidelines. And some payments that were made for services apparently went uncashed. A check made out to the cemetery that was valued less than $200 reportedly was found in Steen’s desk shortly after he was put on paid administrative leave.
It had been sent to the cemetery on Aug. 19, 1998, according to testimony.
Additionally, during an audit for fiscal year 2003-04, City Hall recovered $17,000 out of a missing $21,105 in credit cards transactions, which were Steen’s responsibility to process, Romleski said.
Steen also allegedly allowed a mourning woman to upgrade her husband’s crypt to a premium slot, which was supposed to cost $200,000. That money might not have been secured until City Hall became involved, according to testimony.
In addition, Steen for years referred families to Woodlawn Monument, the business cards for which were openly placed in the office. Steen was supposed to charge Woodlawn Monument, as well as other marker companies, a fee of $275 for installations to be placed at graves.
However, Steen apparently waived the fee for his domestic partner’s business, according to Romleski’s testimony.
Romleski said she regularly asked Steen why he’d allow his domestic partner to not pay the fee, and he reportedly told her, ‘Don’t worry, I’ll take care of it.’”
During cross examination, Becker asked Romleski if she ever followed up on whether or not Steen had ‘taken care’ of it.
“Do you know if payment was ever issued by Woodlawn Monument?”
“No,” Romleski said. Irma Rodriguez-Moisa, City Hall’s attorney, countered this line of questioning.
“By saying he would ‘take care of it,’ Mr. Steen was undermining a system you were following, is that correct?” Rodriguez-Moisa asked.
“Yes,” Romleski said. Becker, meanwhile, noted that Romleski could have done more to notify Steen’s superiors about the alleged discrepancies.
Romleski, who said she feared reprisals, admitted she didn’t.
“He was my boss,” Romleski said.
CONFLICTS OF INTEREST In additional testimony, a female clerical employee said Steen helped her become employed at the cemetery. The employee — still working at City Hall and not part of the investigation — testified that she was Steen’s neighbor.
The employee said Steen was a friend of her mother and he joined them both regularly for dinner. However, the employee felt it was inappropriate that Steen referred business to his domestic partner while Romleski’s husband — who owned a landscaping company — was having trouble renewing a contract with City Hall to maintain the cemetery grounds.
The employee said she finally confronted Steen about the situation.
She says Steen insisted that he was not on his partner’s business license and because of this, there was no conflict in his referring business to Woodlawn Monument, according to the employee’s testimony.
“I asked (Steen) why Phyllis’ husband was a conflict of interest,” the employee said. “He said that it’s because she was on her husband’s license.”
Future testimony, including that of Steen, his domestic partner and former boss, is set to be recounted in upcoming articles.
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on January 11, 2006. Read the original PDF.