A Montgomery County attorney's office employee repeatedly drove a county vehicle for personal errands and failed to report an accident, an Inspector General report found.

Inspector General Megan Davey Limarzi released the report on Friday, Sept. 11, finding the unnamed employee guilty of misusing a county-owned vehicle, taking it home and failing to document a collision. The employee, a department counsel at the Office of the County Attorney for more than a decade, resigned during the investigation.

The probe began after an anonymous complaint that also alleged a possible DUI had been covered up within the Montgomery County Police Department. Limarzi's office did not substantiate that claim, finding no evidence the employee was intoxicated at the time of the accident or that anyone at MCPD concealed it.

The vehicle trouble started on Oct. 28, 2024, when a client department's fleet manager assigned an underutilized administrative vehicle to the employee. County Attorney John Markovs told investigators he was never informed and said OCA employees "are not permitted to drive County vehicles."

Because Markovs never approved the assignment, the county never verified the employee held a valid driver's license. The employee's driving record was never reviewed by the Division of Risk Management, as required by County Administrative Procedure 1-4.

The employee admitted to using the vehicle for personal trips, including picking up nephews from school and attending at least one happy hour. The employee also acknowledged commuting in the vehicle two to three times per week, even though only the Chief Administrative Officer can authorize take-home use under county policy.

The employee was involved in a collision around 9 p.m. while driving the county vehicle. The employee told responding officers they were stopped at a traffic light, using a cellphone, and rolled into the car ahead, knocking the Chevrolet emblem off the front of the vehicle.

The employee also told an officer they had consumed a glass of prosecco at a happy hour around 3:30 p.m. that day. County policy prohibits driving a county vehicle within four hours of consuming any amount of alcohol.

An on-duty MCPD supervisor responded to the scene and assessed the employee, reporting no smell of alcohol, normal speech and steady walking. Officers determined a field sobriety test was not needed and filed a standard crash report.

The OIG report noted that while the employee's account may not have directly violated the four-hour alcohol rule, driving the vehicle to a happy hour and then home was a clear misuse.

The employee never reported the accident to a supervisor, later explaining they did not consider the vehicle damaged because they reattached the emblem a couple of weeks afterward. The department fleet manager eventually learned of the collision through a rumor and looked up the police report independently.

The county's Self-Insurance Fund Claims Manager told investigators that Maryland drivers have up to three years after an accident to file a damage or injury claim. Unreported accidents pose significant financial risk to the county.

Chief Administrative Officer Richard S. Madaleno, in a written response on Thursday, Sept. 10, expressed disappointment over the repeated vehicle misuse and the failure to report the accident. He called the violations significant compliance risks and said the county would enforce its vehicle policies.

Montgomery Community Media first reported on the findings on Wednesday, Sept. 16.

The OIG forwarded the report to Madaleno and Markovs for further action. No timeline for a response has been announced.