Bellwood Sues Former Comptroller, Says He Mishandled Millions
BELLWOOD, Ill. (CBS) -- The western suburb of Bellwood is suing its former comptroller, claiming he mishandled the village's money to benefit himself and other employees.
As WBBM Newsradio's Dave Berner reports, the Village of Bellwood has filed a lawsuit against Roy F. McCampbell, who once served not only as the comptroller, but also as director of finance, budgets and human resources.
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The village claims McCampbell increased his salary annually, from about $62,000 in 2001 to nearly $450,000 in 2009, even though the population of the village decreased in that time.
In addition, the suit alleged he bloated overtime hours for some city employees, including an administrative assistant who made $100,000 to $150,000 a year when she should have been making only $35,000 to $45,000. For about four years, "McCampbell added and/or approved an average of 50 hours of overtime pay per week to this employee's pay sheets after the payroll had been processed," the suit said.
The suit also claims McCampbell entered into a botched contract with a technology firm that "failed to perform its obligations," costing the village about $4 million.
McCampbell's actions resulted in the village being left with $135 million in debt and a bad credit rating, the suit said. The city's financial situation was so bad that it tried to lease a $54,000 truck in 2010, the application was denied.
McCampbell, who was hired by the previous mayor of Bellwood in 2000, was unavailable for comment.
The Sun-Times Media Wire contributed to this report.
