Ansonia police are investigating a report of a missing snow plow from the Public Works Department.
Public Works reported the plow missing on March 16, according to Lt. Andrew Cota.
A long-time public works employee has been put on administrative leave while the investigation is being conducted, Mayor James Della Volpe confirmed Monday.
Della Volpe declined to name the employee, or to comment on the employee’s role in the incident.
Update: Several anonymous sources Tuesday identified the employee as Jim Hooker. A message seeking comment was left at his home Tuesday afternoon.
Della Volpe said the police are investigating, and the city’s Board of Public Works will hold a fact-finding hearing about the incident within the next 10 days.
“We have an investigation going on,” Della Volpe said. “As soon as the facts come out, obviously a determination will be made.”
The plow was the kind used on the 10-wheel public works trucks, Cota said. He estimated it was probably about 10 feet long.
Brand new, a plow like that would cost about $6,000, Cota said.
However, this plow was older, and not in use.
A public works employee who spoke on the condition of anonymity said the plow had been sitting in an outside scrap pile for a year before it was removed by another employee. A different public works employee disputed that, saying it hadn’t been outside for a year and wasn’t in a scrap pile.
Cota wouldn’t say specifically if police suspected an employee took the plow. He also didn’t know how much it would have been worth, if scrapped.
“We’re trying to make a determination if there were any employees involved,” Cota said. “It’s still early. We’re still trying to get the details together.”
