It looks like Hillsborough Public Transportation Commission executive director Cesar Padilla won't be working security as a second job anymore. It was discovered last week that Padilla had been moonlighting from his PTC gig, a source of major embarrassment for the agency.
In a letter dated last Friday, Hillsborough County Chief Deputy Jose Docobo informed Padilla that after a year-long review of his work as a reserve deputy sheriff, he had "failed to meet the requirements for continued commission."
In addition, Docobo wrote that Padilla's "Reserve III commission," an appointment granted to all executive directors of the PTC by the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Department, was intended strictly for and limited to his duties as an agency inspector. "Your subsequent appointment as an executive administrator of the HCPTC exceeds the bounds of a Reserve III commission,"Docobo wrote.
PTC inspectors are listed as law enforcement officers and are certified through the Sheriff's Office.
[jump]Last week, CL reported that PTC chairman Victor Crist had discovered that Padilla earned more than $6,000 in 2013 for providing security services to Tampa Machinery Auction, which conducts auctions for surplus vehicles and equipment. Those hours worked included on Mondays, when Padilla was theoretically on the clock and earning his $107,000 salary as executive director of the Hillsborough PTC, which regulates taxis, ambulances, tow trucks and other vehicles in county.
"It's one thing if he's taking a legitimate holiday or time off that he has earned," Crist said last week. "It's another thing if he's claiming that he's working in his office, but actually getting paid to work somewhere else."
Crist has commissioned County Attorney Chip Fletcher to investigate the matter.
Needless to say, this is a headache that Crist and other supporters of the PTC would rather have avoided. As CL reported over the weekend, Pinellas/Hillsborough state Senator Jeff Brandes has also come out in favor of eliminating the agency at the state level.
CL has attempted to contact Padilla (he's been on vacation until today, when he was expected back at work), but he remains unavailable for comment.