No charges expected against ex-Wake employee

Raleigh, N.C. — After reviewing credit card records of a former Wake County recycling manager, a prosecutor said Monday that he has found no evidence of criminal wrongdoing,

Craig Wittig was fired June 3 from the county's Solid Waste Management Division after an internal review raised questions about travel expenses for 46 trips since he was hired in 2006.

Wittig has said that each trip – to Disney World and Las Vegas and one trip that included whale-watching on the coast of Maine – were to research environmental programs in other parts of the country so that Wake County could develop a state-of-the art recycling program.

County Manager David Cooke turned over Wittig's county credit-card records to the Wake County District Attorney's Office last month.

Cooke said Wittig's work-related expenses from April 2006 to April 2008 totaled $37,350.46. The county considers more than $19,000 of that amount questionable and nearly $10,000 recoverable, he said.

Assistant District Attorney Howard Cummings said Monday that he's told Cooke that, based on the records he reviewed, a criminal investigation wasn't warranted.

Authorities had said earlier that criminal charges would be hard to pursue because Wittig's former boss approved the trips.

The Wake County Board of Commissioners has ordered an audit of all county departments for the past year and the Environmental Services Department for the past two years to determine if there was any other questionable spending.

14 Comments

WRAL.com welcomes your comments on this story. All comments are moderated prior to publication based on our posting guidelines. Please review them prior to posting and if your message is not approved.

VIEW ALL 14 COMMENTS

This story is closed for comments. Comments on WRAL.com news stories are accepted and moderated between the hours of 8 a.m. and 8 p.m. Monday through Friday.

Latest Comments

That was money well spent.

teacher-mom
August 19, 2008 1:03 p.m.

This is sickening! I am a temporary county employee because of mess like this. My position has not been approved in the county budget by the county commissioners because they are too busy paying the credit card bills from these frivolous "business" trips. I would like the opportunity to become a permanent Wake County employee one day in the near future, but I do not feel it will happen unless we as taxpayers put an end to all this madness. Maybe with him out the picture, things will look better for me next year.

wintjam2000
August 19, 2008 12:10 p.m.

Since there was no wrong doing, now he can sue for his job back and punitive damages. So now the county losses even more money. IMAGINE THAT!

lilreno is in the wind
August 19, 2008 11:29 a.m.

This guy was gone one half of every year...Even if he found something that might have been beneficial to Wake County he did not have the time to implement it. By the time his dry cleaning was done he was off on another family vacation. But, he still has a future running for the legislature, or senate.

whatusay
August 18, 2008 9:00 p.m.

Hey Boss.. I've been home for almost a week now isn't time for another trip?

WHAT A JOKE !!!!