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Latest Water Authority Hire Has Criminal Record
Buffalo, N.Y. - Tim Meegan, who began work at the Erie County Water Authority on Monday is somewhat typical of the politically wired "friends and family members" who get jobs at the Water Authority.
His mother Sheila Meegan is the supervisor of West Seneca, and his family has been active in West Seneca politics for decades.
What's not so typical about Meegan's hire by the Water Authority is that he has a criminal record.
According to court records, back in July of 2008 Meegan was arrested following an altercation at a West Seneca restaurant.
He was charged with gang assault, meaning there was more than one person involved, as well as assault.
At the time, Meegan's mother Sheila was a West Seneca Town Board member and so the younger Meegan's case was moved to city court in Lackawanna.
In February of 2009, Meegan pled guilty to assault in the third degree which is a misdemeanor, and given a conditional discharge meaning no jail time or probation.
A court clerk in Lackawanna said the conditions that were part of Meegan's sentence were not immediately available.
On Monday, Meegan was hired as a utility worker at the Water Authority at just over $41,000 a year. The job does not require a civil service test and so the authority could hire whoever it wanted for the job.
When I asked the Authority's personnel commissioner Matt Baudo about Meegan's hiring he told me "we do criminal background checks on all hires. We were well aware of his (Meegan's) background."
Baudo added that Meegan was very forthcoming about his arrest during his interview process and that Meegan will not be entering anyone's home as part of his job duties.
Baudo said none of the authority's commissioners would do an interview with 2 On Your Side about Meegan's hiring, his qualifications and his background.
Prior to being hired at the Water Authority, Meegan worked for nearly four years in a patronage position at the Erie County Clerk's Office.
Ironically, Meegan's hiring comes just eight days after the authority announced that it was not renewing the contract of the authority's long time Executive Director, Bob Mendez.
The reason the commissioners gave: they felt Mendez was too political.
Last week, 2 On Your Side reported that the Water Authority hired Tim Gallagher as a part-time attorney at a rate of $100 per hour.
Gallagher is the son of former state senator and NFTA Chairman Ray Gallagher, who is a board member of the Erie County Conservative Party, where the younger Gallagher is also a board member.