Princeton’s chief municipal information officer was placed on paid administrative leave from his six-figure job last month along with a second employee in the office of information technology, as Princeton police investigate an allegation that computers owned by the municipality were improperly disposed of.
Anthony Guevarez, an IT technician, was placed on leave July 18. Robert McQueen, the head of the department, was placed on leave July 19, municipal administrator Marc D. Dashield said on Aug. 3.
“There is an accusation that equipment was disposed of in a manner not consistent with policy,” said Dashield, who is now in charge of the IT department.
Municipal officials would not discuss the dollar amount or the volume of equipment involved in the situation.
Few details were initially revealed about the case, but a report surfaced shortly after municipal officials forwarded the matter to the Princeton Police Department to investigate.
Police spokesman Sgt. Fred Williams said in emails on Aug. 3 that Police Chief Nicholas K. Sutter “was asked to have our detectives look into the matter (on Aug. 1)” and that the request had come from Dashield.
Police declined to answer who has been interviewed so far or how long their investigation is expected to last.
“We are not prepared to comment on anything other than that at this point,” Williams said.
In explaining why there was a gap between when the two men were put on leave and when police got involved, Mayor Liz Lempert said on Aug. 3 that during “that intervening time, the incident was under administrative review.”
Lempert declined to say why officials felt the need to turn to law enforcement, if the Mercer County Prosecutor’s Office is also involved, or how long she had known about the matter.
Asked if government records or information might have been compromised if the computer-related equipment was not disposed of properly, Dashield said, “That will come out as part of the investigation.”
Princeton disposes of municipal property either through a public auction, through recycling or by throwing it away, depending on the value, Dashield said.
McQueen, who has worked for Princeton since 1998, did not respond to a message that was sent to his Twitter account asking him to contact the Princeton Packet to comment on the matter. He subsequently blocked the paper from following his account.
McQueen, a municipal employee since 1998, is paid $112,000, according to Dashield. Guevarez, who is paid $41,000, was hired in 2015, the administrator said.
Asked why the men were placed on paid leave rather than unpaid leave, Lempert said, “That’s not unusual.”
The IT department has three employees, plus a fourth who is shared between the town, the public school district and the public library.
McQueen, on the financial disclosure form he filled out in April, listed GMIS International, the Nottingham Volunteer Ambulance Squad, in Hamilton, and the Rutgers School of Public Affairs and Administration as the business organizations he had an interest in.
