Waste of the Day: Museum Timesheets Get Forged
A federal investigation concluded that the New York State Museum in Albany forged its employees’ timesheets to improperly receive $597,624 in federal grants. The allegations were first reported by the New York Times in late 2024 and recently substantiated by investigators from the Department of the Interior and the New York State comptroller.
The New York State Museum receives annual grant funding from the U.S. Geological Survey’s STATEMAP program, part of the Department of the Interior, which helps states map their geological features like mineral deposits and groundwater.
The museum is required to match all the federal grant funds by paying the salaries of staff working on the map project.
But in 2023, the museum’s former payroll administrator, Brian Slater, alleged he had been told to falsify the timesheets of employees who were actually working on other projects. Slater said he was told he “could be terminated at any time for disobedience,” and implicated former museum director Mark Schaming as one top official allegedly involved in the scheme.
The New York State Education Department investigated immediately but did not identify any wrongdoing. An internal report obtained by the New York Times found that “It is not possible to conclude that there is mismanagement or fraud.”
The new federal audit contradicts those findings. The Department of the Interior found several employees who were instructed to submit inaccurate timesheets.
The museum also used money meant for expenses like travel and office supplies to pay staff salaries. Such a change required approval from the federal government.
The museum is currently undergoing a $150 million renovation as part of Gov. Kathy Hochul’s $400 million investment in revitalizing Albany. She said last year the capital city “struggles with perceptions of public disorder and elevated crime … deterring would-be residents from living in Albany.”
Summary: In a way, it’s fitting that a museum of New York’s history is displaying fiscal mismanagement for all the world to see.
