College may face fines, lawsuits

Scandal-ridden Quincy College may soon face fines, lawsuits, and a changing of the guard as city, state, and federal officials step up their scrutiny of the politically divided institution.

The drama at the college has been building for over a year, since investigations into its surgical technology program, which was allowing students to graduate without clinical experience, began showing hints of wider problems at the school. Most recently, various authorities have found unusual budgeting practices, a lack of administrative checks and balances, and new concerns about president Sean Barry's use of the Quincy College Foundation, a private fund dedicated to awarding scholarships and providing support for the college.

''A bright light has been shined on this, and the shadows are far-reaching," said Dorothy McTiernan, chairwoman of the foundation, which is being audited by an independent investigator.

The college's board of governors placed Barry on paid leave in May, pending completion of the audit into the foundation, which has been depleted by $300,000, or 95 percent of its endowment, over a 16-month period. Barry countered by suing the board last month, saying that his rights were violated when his lawyer was not allowed to participate in the closed session when he was placed on leave. A motion by Quincy officials to dismiss the case was heard last month, with a ruling expected within days.

City Solicitor Monica Conyngham said that an array of potential problems are on her radar screen as she works through the college foundation's books, including the possible use of foundation funds to circumvent the competitive bidding process required of public institutions by law, and the possibility that Barry spent $32,000 at the Marriott hotel chain, where a relative works, to accrue rewards on a personal account. She said some foundation purchases signed by Barry, such as a $43,000 surveillance camera system, should have been made through the college, not the foundation.

Calls to Barry's home requesting comment were unanswered.

During her review of the funds a few weeks ago, McTiernan, who has been chairwoman of the foundation for a year and only saw the books for the first time a few weeks ago, said she saw no signs of illegal activity.

Meanwhile, prior investigations may soon have repercussions for the college. A recently released city audit of the surgical technology program said that its director, Faith Evans-Tucker, who was indicted last year on charges of stealing more than $100,000 from the school, was putting ghost instructors on the payroll; that students were over-enrolled and had insufficient classroom space and class hours; and that when complaints by the students were brought to the attention of the college administration, including the president, they were stonewalled.

The criminal case against Evans-Tucker is to resume in Norfolk Superior Court on July 22. The city audit is now being considered by the US Inspector General's Office, which could assess fines to the college and require the return of large federal grants.

The US Department of Education paid $346,000 to support students in the program, and the state Office of Student Financial Assistance contributed $11,600 that will probably need to be returned, said Theresa Lord Piatelli, chairwoman of the college's board of governors. According to a letter by Steve McGrath, who retired on June 30 as the in-house counsel for the college and Barry's executive assistant, students have filed various lawsuits and claims demanding $1.5 million so far.

One reason that the college, a municipal institution long thought of as cash-strapped, is prepared to deal with those costs may stem from its practice of submitting a budget each year that Lord Piatelli indicated was nonsensical. This year's budget, for example, projected a profit of roughly $570 when the actual profit was about $2 million, she said.

''Usually, you're meant to look at the financial statement and it's meant to present information," said Steve Higgins, the chief financial officer for the college who took over last fall. Past budgets ''sort of misrepresent reality," said Higgins, who noted that the college seemed to be hiding $230,000 in the ''depreciation" line item earlier this year. According to an e-mail exchange obtained by the Globe, when Higgins pointed out the error in February, he received an e-mail from vice president Thomas DeSantes saying, ''We used lines to hide revenue and raises. If you want to succeed here, you need to communicate with the President."

In an interview, Higgins said that the problem of hiding revenue has now been fixed and that the practice is ''not appropriate in my book," but that DeSantes had explained to him that it was standard practice to hide the amount of money the college had set aside from employee unions that bargain for raises.

Efforts to reach DeSantes in his office were unsuccessful.

At the center of the uproar is Barry, who is mentioned in the audits and by critics as having abused his authority, and allowing or even fostering an atmosphere where improper practices thrived.

Auditors from an outside firm began reviewing Barry's travel expenses in recent weeks. A Globe analysis of foundation checks found that he frequently traveled out of Quincy, with at least nine conferences scheduled for fiscal year 2004, always staying at Marriott-owned hotels under a member rewards number unfamiliar to Higgins, who manages college expenses, and McTiernan, who oversaw the foundation.

McTiernan said that she, as chairwoman of the fund, never knew its balance and only knew peripherally of Barry's travel expenses, because she had no finance background and was largely fund-raising for the college's 50th anniversary.

''Too many people assumed someone else was doing something, myself included," she said.

Lord Piatelli said she considers in-house counsel McGrath's decision to retire ''significant," and questioned whether DeSantes ''can operate in his position, knowing how he feels about the board," following recent remarks made by the vice president.

Acting college president Martha Sue Harris, who has the power to hire and fire employees, declined to comment on specific personnel issues.

Carolyn Y. Johnson can be reached at cjohnson@globe.com.