Mayor Arrigo Cracks Down on Illegal Activity in Water and Sewer Department

As part of Mayor Brian Arrigo’s ongoing efforts to review the operation of all city departments that handle people’s money, a former employee of the Water and Sewer Department has been charged for allegedly pocketing cash for outdoor water meters.

There is a long-standing program in Revere that allows residents to purchase a separate meter designed to measure the water used outdoors to receive a credit against the sewer rates for water usage typically not directed through the City’s sewer system.  The newly appointed Superintendent of the Water & Sewer Department discovered that some of these outdoor water meters had been distributed without any record of distribution or payment. The Mayor’s Office initiated an internal review into the unaccounted for water meters.

Shortly after mounting the internal review, resident accounts showed that the former employee had taken cash payments on more than one occasion for the unaccounted for meters. When it became clear that the employee was engaged in more than shoddy bookkeeping, the matter was referred to the Revere Police Department.

The former employee, Michael Amentola of Revere, was placed under arrest without incident on Thursday, Sept. 20, and was charged with one felony count of Larceny Over $1,200 in connection with allegations that he pocketed money collected for the outdoor water meters.

The Mayor’s Office commends the joint efforts of both the Water and Sewer Department and the Revere Police Department for their detection and investigation of this matter. In addition, Arrigo will be working with the City’s new Human Resources Department to initiate an ethics training in every department in the city.

“I have no tolerance for this employee’s behavior, and my zero tolerance policy applies to every department across the City,”  Arrigo said. “This situation demonstrates the importance of the long-overdue policies and procedures necessary to prevent and detect such malfeasance so we don’t find ourselves in this position again.  I remain committed to instituting and implementing those policies through the audits we have already begun.  It is of utmost importance that the public feel confident that their money is being rightfully handled.  We have made significant progress but there is still a lot of work left to do in order to deliver the transparency and accountability to local government that our residents deserve.”