NYC Payroll Project Manager Gerard Denault Fired For Falsifying Own Timesheets

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork/AP) -- The project manager who developed the long-delayed and costly CityTime payroll system has been fired for ripping off the city by paying himself for hours that he did not work.

Comptroller John Liu says 49-year-old Gerard Denault, who worked for Science Applications International Corporation, was booted from the private company that created the system.

"By their own admission, this latest development now implicates, for the first time in this scandal, SAIC," Liu said. "The very company entrusted by our City to build a timekeeping system for NYC employees has grossly mismanaged their own time keeping."

In a letter to the executive director of the Financial Information Services Agency, SAIC said it has yet to determine how many hours Denault should have been paid for.

Company spokeswoman Laura Luke confirmed Denault was terminated. The company says it'll reimburse the city $2.4 million for all his time billed for the project.

Denault referred questions to his lawyer, who did not immediately return calls for comment.

SAIC was the target of a fraud probe last year that led to criminal charges against four consultants and the resignation of the city's payroll director. Prosecutors said the consultants bilked the city out of $80 million.

The city has said it will not renew the company's contract when it expires June 30.

The cost of CityTime, which was launched during former Mayor Rudy Giuliani's administration, has ballooned from an estimated $68 million to over $700 million. 

Liu has called for a comprehensive investigation of other possible violations by SAIC. He is also urging the city to withhold future payments to SAIC pending the outcome of the investigation.

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