Employee committed bid tampering in City of Fort Lauderdale and CRA's selection of holiday lighting vendor

The Broward Office of the Inspector General (OIG) has concluded its investigation into an allegation that misconduct occurred in connection with the procurement of holiday lighting and displays for the City of Fort Lauderdale. We substantiated the allegation. The OIG investigation uncovered that, without the city’s knowledge or authorization, CRA Coordinator Thomasina Turner-Diggs agreed in writing on behalf of the city to pay South Florida Lighting Team, LLC, doing business as (d/b/a) Miami Christmas Lights (MCL) $51,450.50 for holiday display lighting services for the city and CRA’s 2016 Light Up Sistrunk event. At the same time, MCL’s sales representative M. Randy Meyerson, who worked on commission, fabricated two higher quotes, purportedly from two competing vendors but in actuality vendors related to MCL, for Ms. Turner-Diggs to use in processing the procurement. He did this with her knowledge, in her presence, and on her office computer. Approximately six weeks later, in an effort to maintain control of the procurement and circumvent the city’s formal, sealed bid process that was triggered when a city purchase was estimated to exceed $25,000.00, Ms. Turner-Diggs directed Mr. Meyerson to split MCL’s quote into two, smaller quotes. She then had the CRA process a requisition for the city to purchase the holiday lighting services from MCL for $22,950.00, submitting one of the broken down quotes in that amount, along with the two fabricated quotes from purportedly competing vendors. Ms. Turner-Diggs’s acts constituted state criminal misconduct in the form of bid tampering, a second degree felony; criminal use of public records, a third-degree felony; and falsifying records, a first degree misdemeanor.