DOH Employee Faked Purchase Order to Buy Office Refrigeration

The Inspector General determined that Philip Passero, a Health Program Administrator 2 in the New York State Department of Health’s Division of Nutrition, working in concert with Joel Burtman, a building manager employed by a private firm that leases space to the Department of Health, falsified purchase records to conceal the Division’s improper purchase of a refrigerator for use by executive staff. The Inspector General also found evidence that Passero’s supervisors, Division of Nutrition Director Patricia Hess and Director of the Division’s Bureau of Administration and Evaluation Laura VanValkenburg, knew of, and approved, Passero’s actions.