Two fired from Dept. of Technology for accepting gifts

The Inquirer reports that after a year-long investigation two Department of Technology officials have been fired for accepting meals from city contractors.
One of the officials, deputy chief information officer for communications and operations Joseph James Sr., secretly created a Verizon business-rewards account that provided $48,000 in gifts for himself and others. Others mentioned in the report include Concetta D. Lilly-Pearson and former DoT employee Francis G. Punzo.
From the Inquirer:

Punzo, who left Verizon to join the Department of Public Property and now is back at Verizon, was accused of helping James establish a Verizon Business Link Rewards Account in 2005 that earned thousands of dollars in credits because of the city’s business.
“They opened up the account on behalf of the city but didn’t tell anyone about it,” Kurland said. “It was all kept secret.”
James and Punzo used the account, the city alleged, to obtain more than $48,000 in gifts, including television sets valued at more than $26,000, iPods, expensive Tumi tote bags, and a variety of gift cards at stores including Macy’s and Best Buy.

James was a contact for our recent coverage of broadband competition between Verizon and Comcast in the city, because of his role in negotiating franchise agreements in the City for Verizon. There’s no word yet how the gifts might have affected that negotiation process.
h/t to Shannon McDonald