County employee paid friend for construction work he’s not licensed for, officials say
A former county employee and an unlicensed contractor are under investigation after they collaborated on a $15,000 scheme at the Key West International Airport, county officials said.
Yanisleidis Arzola Rodriguez, 36, was fired from her job as the airport finance analyst after a July 24 disciplinary hearing.
On Friday, she was arrested on a felony charge of contractor-related fraud. She spent about three hours at the Stock Island Detention Center before being released on $35,000 bond.
Rodriguez shares an address on Stock Island and a bank account with Carlos Montero, who is listed as the owner of CYM Builders, a company created March 13, according to state records.
Montero is a convicted felon on probation for unrelated offenses and does not hold a Florida contractor’s license, said county spokeswoman Kristen Livengood.
But Montero’s company, CYM Builders, was paid about $15,000 by the county for construction work.
The company’s address is the same Stock Island address listed for Rodriguez and Montero in state records. She is listed as the vice president of CYM Builders and Montero is listed as the president.
Rodriguez processed several invoices for payment to CYM under her $5,000 purchasing limit, Livengood said. After Rodriguez made a $9,000 payment to CYM, county employees became suspicious.
“That triggered the investigation,” said County Administrator Roman Gastesi.
“In at least one instance, she authorized a payment to the company and the check was deposited into a bank account she shares with Montero,” Livengood said.
Rodriguez and Montero could not be immediately reached for comment.
After receiving a tip about unlicensed construction work at the airport, the state attorney’s office, the Monroe County attorney’s office and the county’s human resources department opened an investigation.
The Monroe County Budget and Finance department found the problem first.
“The county follows a strict set of ethical guidelines, including not tolerating the use of public funds to benefit one’s self, family or friends,” Livengood said.
Rodriguez and Montero remain under investigation by the state attorney’s office, Livengood said.
“We take these matters very seriously,” said Gastesi. “We want to be clear that such wrongdoing will not be tolerated in the county, and we are pleased that our existing system of checks and balances identified this issue.”
This story was originally published July 26, 2019 at 5:23 PM.
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