Scoop: What Happened to Dave Bashore?
The former township manager paid out $600,000 in unapproved bonuses between 2001 and 2009.
To the ongoing chagrin of Radnor officials, the conflict with disgraced former township manager Dave Bashore remains unresolved almost three years after he was fired for racking up nearly a million dollars in unapproved expenditures on the taxpayer dime.
Current manager Bob Zienkowski told Patch that the township has so far recouped $500,000 from its liability policy with the Hartford Insurance Company and $55,331 from Bashore himself after a Dec. 2010 ruling from the state Ethics Commission.
According to Radnor solicitor John Rice, the township collected an additional $29,000 from Bashore—a settlement on the remaining balance of a home loan it had made him—and is also awaiting resolution on a $300,000 judgment it filed against the former manager in Dec. 2009 in Delaware County Court.
"I don’t have any comment on that," Rice said when asked when he expects the judgment to be resolved and how much he ultimately expects the township to collect. "It’s been ongoing for two years, our effort to recoup as much money as we can for the taxpayers of Radnor township, and so far we’ve recouped over $600,000," he added.
Reparation isn’t the only consequence the former manager has dodged. Despite Bashore’s transgressions, and the prodding of Radnor Township, he wasn’t charged criminally. Rice said many in the township were and are frustrated by the refusal of the county and the FBI to prosecute.
"The township made repeated requests of the DA’s office and the Feds who were looking at this [to file]—we provided all the information we had—and they chose not to file any criminal charges…I’m surprised that they didn’t do anything, but that’s out of the township’s hands."
Delaware County assistant district attorney Erica Parham confirmed that her office took the case under review and ultimately found no criminal activity, but declined to comment on the specifics of their interpretation of the former manager’s behavior.
FBI media coordination agent J.J. Klaver told Patch the bureau has no comment on the case.
"The township officials and I are disappointed," the solicitor added.
With good cause. In addition to the $355,730 hit the township said it took in legal expenses in the litigation-intense 14 month period after his firing, a forensic audit performed in late 2009 by Marcum LLP revealed that Bashore spent $377,762 in "inappropriate, unauthorized or undocumented expenditures" during his tenure as manager, and, according to Radnor special counsel Neil Morris, rang up an additional $600,000 in lump sum bonuses to township employees he made without board approval—$180,000 of which he awarded to himself.
During this time, according to the Marcum audit, Bashore made $165,470 in "questionable or insufficiently" documented charges to the township’s credit card, including $6,000 at Wine & Spirit Shops and thousands more on Phillies, 76ers, and Villanova basketball tickets.
Bashore always maintained his innocence.
Watch the meeting in which Bashore makes his case to the Board of Commissioners, to no avail.
Former commissioner Jim Pierce told Patch that he saw Bashore, since his April ’09 termination, at a Villanova basketball game.
"I heard he was working at Home Depot," Pierce said.
Repeated attempts to reach Bashore through his attorney, Ron Surkin, were unsuccessful.
Catherine
11:10 am on Wednesday, January 25, 2012
Early on, he was reduced to living with his mother-in-law, so I heard. While many feel he deserves to be living in a place even worse than that -- such as one with iron bars --he has two children who don't deserve to suffer.
Metoxic
11:32 am on Wednesday, January 25, 2012
At 17:00 of the video linked above, Dave Bashore says the same thing I have been saying all along.
It is and was unfair to blame the township's current financial situation only on him. At least he stood up and faced the music.
Sam Strike
11:42 am on Wednesday, January 25, 2012
What I have heard from some old-timers is that many things he learned from his predecessor Bob Crofford, with whom Dave had a close relationship (you see the bust of Crofford in the township building atrium). With Crofford dead, there's not much that can be done on that front.
Metoxic
12:28 pm on Wednesday, January 25, 2012
And, everyone loved Bob Crofford, so I don't get it.
David Richards
12:46 pm on Wednesday, January 25, 2012
I heard a police man with the last name of Rutty was a close friend of Bashore. I also heard Rutty haul ass when they were following the money trail.
Rita
1:26 pm on Wednesday, January 25, 2012
A generally good post on a generally disgraceful man. Just a few thoughts (which I will break down with separate posts so as not to exceed the Patch limit):
First, the follow-up commentary about "Dave Bashore standing up and facing the music" has left my speechless. The guy admittedly lied on videotape about receiving a bonus, got caught red-handed, got suspended, and got fired. I was present in the room when Bashore's termination hearing occurred. When Bashore addressed the Board at that hearing, there was no material "facing the music"...instead, he used a significant portion of the speech to try to divert attention by making irrelevant (and sensationalistic) allegations against the Township Treasurer.
Rita
1:27 pm on Wednesday, January 25, 2012
Second, for the folks who wring their hands and cry, "Ohhh have merrrrrcy...he has a fammmmily" - y'know what? So do most crooks, tortfeasors, and n'er-do-wells. When daddy or mommy screws up, the kids get embarrassed, and there's no getting around it. Don't want your kids to be humiliated? Don't do stuff that will cause them humiliation.
Rita
1:27 pm on Wednesday, January 25, 2012
Third, I'm REALLY curious about the "old timers" who are telling Sam Strike that Bashore learned his methods from Bob Crofford (who is dead, and can't personally defend his reputation). Sam, can you provide some specific names of people who are willing to go on the record and tell Radnor residents (including me) that Bob Crofford pulled the same stunts as Bashore?
Rita
1:27 pm on Wednesday, January 25, 2012
Finally, to the author of the post (Mr. Sunnergram): if you watch the tape of Bashore's termination hearing, you will see Commissioner Bill Spingler (who is now President of the Board) specifically state that he would write Bashore a letter of recommendation, and then attempted to table (i.e. temporarily halt) the termination. It might be newsworthy to see what Spingler thinks now (as well as the other specific commissioners) as opposed to just taking the word of the Township Solicitor, John Rice. After all, following the termination hearing, current 5th Ward Commissioner John Nagle went on camera and said that "'I think this was one step too far, maybe", and current 4th Ward Commissioner Elaine Paul Schaefer was photographed hugging Bashore at that hearing. It's not that I don't trust John Rice's representations vis a vis the beliefs of the Board on this particular issue (point of fact: I don't trust Rice on any issue - he always appears unprepared at Radnor's BoC meetings) it's just that some direct quotes from the Commissioners themselves would be interesting.
Annie
10:43 pm on Wednesday, January 25, 2012
Geez....I don't want to censor anyone, but perhaps we need to limit the number of characters in the replies. I don't think this should end up looking like some of the long 'letters to the editor' in the paper, which are truly more political statements than direct responses to the articles.
Muammar Gaddafi
2:56 pm on Wednesday, January 25, 2012
hah. You said "tortfeasors"
Catherine
10:54 pm on Wednesday, January 25, 2012
I'm with Annie....but in total disagreement with the poster who believes that kids deserve to be humiliated because their father is a crook. That is absolutely heartless and cruel.