Two fired from Dept. of Technology for accepting gifts

Update, July 21, 11:37 a.m.: Added contextual details of James and our prior coverage of his role.

The Inquirer reports that after a year-long investigation two Department of Technology officials have been fired for accepting meals from city contractors.

One of the officials, deputy chief information officer for communications and operations Joseph James Sr., secretly created a Verizon business-rewards account that provided $48,000 in gifts for himself and others. Others mentioned in the report include Concetta D. Lilly-Pearson and former DoT employee Francis G. Punzo.

From the Inquirer:

Punzo, who left Verizon to join the Department of Public Property and now is back at Verizon, was accused of helping James establish a Verizon Business Link Rewards Account in 2005 that earned thousands of dollars in credits because of the city’s business.

“They opened up the account on behalf of the city but didn’t tell anyone about it,” Kurland said. “It was all kept secret.”

James and Punzo used the account, the city alleged, to obtain more than $48,000 in gifts, including television sets valued at more than $26,000, iPods, expensive Tumi tote bags, and a variety of gift cards at stores including Macy’s and Best Buy.

James was a contact for our recent coverage of broadband competition between Verizon and Comcast in the city, because of his role in negotiating franchise agreements in the City for Verizon. There’s no word yet how the gifts might have affected that negotiation process.

h/t to Shannon McDonald

Technically Not Tech: Media Mobilizing Project closes grant, looks forward

Media Mobilizing Project founding member Todd Wolfson is interested in the role that media and communications can play in helping build movements to end poverty.

He hasn’t been the only one.

In 2007, MMP was awarded a $150,000 grant from the Knight News Foundation. With that money, the media organization has been helping other organizations use journalism to further their cause.

Since then, Wolfson and his team have helped create a network of 10 groups, like the Philadelphia Student Union, Pennsylvania Head Start Association, Casino-Free Philadelphia, Taxi Workers Alliance of PA and other service sector unions.

MMP’s aim is straight forward enough: teach the basics of new media concepts in order to help those groups get the good word out.

The grant helped MMP maintain a staff, create six six-week workshops to train organization leaders in Web, video and basic computer skills and purchase equipment and computers for each group’s respective community.

Now, Media Mobilizing is shifting gears.
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