The Police produced an Intradepartmental Communication on January 8, 2020 regarding the
investigation and gave Mr. Turgiss a pretty complimentary report. The report stated, “
In regards to the submission of fraudulent mileage reimbursement reports: All daily work and
activity logs that had been generated were compared to the mileage reimbursement forms that
Turgiss had submitted. In reviewing these logs and using Google maps mapping out the shortest
possible distances it would have taken Turgiss to visit the properties he had on specific days. In
doing so it was found Turgiss had not over reported any of his mileage and actually under
recorded the mileage on some days.
As a salaried employee Turgiss is entitled to his salary regardless of the actual hours he works as
long as he works at some point during a pay'period. In speaking with Turgiss's supervisors and the
Human Resources Department it appeared that Turgiss was completing the work that was required
and expected of him.
The DRA also conducted an investigation. They completed their report on January 24, 2020, weeks
after the NPD. They too had work logs and the Private Investigator’s Report. At that time, DRA
laws did not permit the sanctions and reports to be released. The Assessing Standards Board (Asb)
wrote legislation that passed in June 2022 to release these sanction reports. I just received these
reports through a Right to Know request. Here is what the DRA reported,
2. Dereliction of Duty — Breach of Ethics Rules. At various times during the month of April 2019,
you were observed by a taxpayer and a private investigator that she hired sleeping or relaxing in
‘your car parked at a trailhead and. in a:parking lot behind a local hotel for extended periods of
time during the work day while you were signed out of the office at City Hall as “in the field’. On
April 15, 16, and the week of April 26, it is clear that your field reports are contradicted by the
observations of the private investigator. Your field logs are incomplete and thus for any dates that
you were observed by the private investigator in the parking area and lacking a field report
showing you were actually doing something work-related, any uncertainties should be weighed
against you. This behavior constitutes misconduct under Asb 301.36 as dereliction of duty, or
malfeasance, misfeasance, or nonfeasance because during hours you were in your car napping or
relaxing you should have been performing the assessing duties outlined in Asb 304.04. Not doing
so and instead misrepresenting to your employers what you were actually doing constitutes
dereliction of duty, and malfeasance, misfeasance, or nonfeasance. It also constitutes misconduct
under Asb 301.36(b) as a violation of appraisal practice ethical standards, in particular, but
without limitation, Asb Code of Ethics Canon 1. The sanction for these violations under Asb 308.05
is decertification for up to 5 years.
What is most concerning is that the Police weighed heavily on what Mr. Turgiss told them despite
his lying on his logs and the City white board. His lying had no impact on his credibility in the eyes
of the police. The police investigation was improper.
What needs to change. The Police must enact a policy to prohibit investigations of City employees.
These investigations must go to a state agency. Nashua voters have to elect a new Mayor who
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