Quincy oversight hearing details senior‑center theft, officials outline new controls

A Quincy City oversight hearing on June 22 examined a multiyear theft from the city's senior services program and the administrative changes officials say are being put in place to prevent a recurrence.

Treasurer Molly Smith told the council her office reviewed hundreds of turnover sheets and evidence gathered during a police and federal probe and concluded “checks were being turned over to the treasurer's office, but cash was not.” She said the theft was “not a breakdown in policies and procedures. This was pure theft by a bad actor.” Smith said the treasurer's office posted citywide revenue-turnover policies in October 2024, set a $500 cash‑in threshold, requires at least weekly deposits and now requires departmental policies to be filed with the treasurer’s office.

Smith described a program of annual on‑site audits led by herself and two staffers to check cash handling and storage in departments that accept any revenue. She said the treasury now stamps turnover sheets on receipt, double‑counts cash with a cash recycler and maintains an independent cashbook before transactions flow into Munis, the city’s finance system.

“It behooves everybody to be double‑checking and making sure the money is being posted into the correct Munis account,” Smith said, describing reconciliations and the need for departments to verify deposits.

Councilors pressed administrators about how long the activities had been occurring, whether employees were intimidated from reporting suspicious conduct and why some records dated to prior years were not physically available. City staff said Munis electronic receipts are available further back under the records retention schedule, but paper turnover sheets are retained physically for a shorter, recent period. Officials said one employee reported the matter to the city in April 2024; police and a federal task force later joined the investigation.

City administration said federal prosecutors negotiated restitution and that the defendant was ordered to return funds. A city official summarized the amount ordered to be returned as “130‑some odd thousand” dollars to the general fund; the administration said any recovered funds would be treated as miscellaneous nonrecurring revenue unless otherwise appropriated by council.

Council members urged additional safeguards: bonding employees who move cash, expanding fraud training, adopting a formal third‑party whistleblower intake, and accelerating electronic invoicing so records are preserved and searchable. Treasurer Smith said the city will launch an online payments platform, Pay Quincy MA, on July 1 to reduce cash handling while preserving payment options for unbanked residents.

Police Chief Kennedy and city managers said the system ultimately worked because the employee who detected wrongdoing came forward, and federal authorities elected to pursue charges after reviewing the evidence. Councilors said the episode exposed cultural and control weaknesses worthy of continued oversight and directed staff to return with more details on bonding and the whistleblower reporting options.

The hearing recessed for committee business and the council continued its evening agenda.