Source: MARK JOHNSON, Associated Press (NY), December 6, 2005, 5:54 PM EST
Delays in issuing contracts for guard services continue to raise the security risks for state employees and people visiting state buildings while also wasting taxpayer funds, state Comptroller Alan Hevesi’s office said Tuesday. A state comptroller’s audit conducted in 2001 and 2002 found that private security companies hired by the state’s Office of General Services provided hundreds of unlicensed and unqualified guards to protect state buildings, universities and other facilities. …. Steve Madarasz, a spokesman for the Civil Service Employees Association, the largest state government employees’ union in New York, said the situation reflects poorly on Gov. George Pataki.