RICHMOND, Va. — The future of the Richmond Inspector General's Office may be uncertain following the secret departure of the city's top watchdog.
The relatively small office is tasked with investigating waste, fraud, and abuse and has only nine funded positions. But at least three of those employees have come to former Inspector General James Osuna's defense after he left the position earlier this week.
“I’m very disgusted. I'm very hurt over the process," said Councilwoman Reva Trammell (8th District) about the council's handing of Osuna's separation.
Osuna, a council appointee, departed after a closed-door city council meeting on Monday. Trammell, who was not present at the meeting due to being out of town for a family member's event, said Osuna was "fired."
However, the council leadership will not confirm or deny that. In fact, the body has not said anything about it, citing a personnel matter.
“I don't think the public knows all of it. No, I don't. I know that this is still an ongoing investigation, and I know that there's more to come, and it should be. The citizens need to know. They need to know what happened," Trammell said.
CBS 6 has now obtained communications from multiple inspector general employees which appear to shed more light on what happened.
In one letter dated April 21, an investigator in the office told councilmembers that she was "interviewed about allegations of misconduct in our agency" but was "shocked" to learn about the claims that were made. The employee did not detail the exact allegations but said she had never witnessed "unprofessional and concerning behavior" from Osuna and described him as an "exceptional leader."
"If he were not the Inspector General, I would no longer be working for the City of Richmond OIG," she wrote.
That same employee sent another letter dated May 14, following Osuna's departure, calling it a "grave error." She praised Osuna's investigative skills, saying he expanded the complexity of the agency's cases and increased collaboration with law enforcement during his time.
She wrote the city "has allowed ample fraud, waste, and abuse to accumulate into the millions" but Osuna wanted to "correct the lack of oversight, corruption, and financial loss."
In another undated letter sent by a different investigator in the office, the employee said he was "very disheartened with the decision of the city council" and that Osuna was committed to making a better office to "root out the waste, fraud, and abuse." He said the council "has done a disservice to the city and set back the progress."
Then, in an email to Councilwoman Trammell dated May 13, an investigations manager in the office, who is now the acting Inspector General, expressed "deep concerns about the future of the office."
"We may be headed in a totally different direction after [Osuna's] departure," he wrote, adding that the remaining employees are "demoralized."
“I met with them, and they told me that they said that they would probably leave," Trammell said.
CBS 6 asked Council President Cynthia Newbille about the statements from the employees, how she would address them, and for a response to Trammell's criticism of the council's handling of the process.
A council spokesperson sent a statement attributed to Newbille that said, “During this period of leadership transition, the vital work of the Office of Inspector General continues without interruption, including the investigations regarding the retirement payments and the potential abuse of city funds. The investigators and staff remain fully committed to upholding the mission of promoting integrity, accountability, and efficiency in all City operations. Additionally, there will be no comment on personnel matters.”
However, Trammell questioned how those probes can move forward if all the investigators quit.
“My heart goes out to those employees, and city council didn't do a good job, not with this. It was like a rush to get rid of him. Why? Because he knows too much?” Trammell said.
CBS 6 reached out to Osuna for this story, but he said "no comment."
CBS 6 is committed to sharing community voices on this important topic. Email your thoughts to the CBS 6 Newsroom.
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