The Los Angeles snafu over Fleishman-Hillard’s dealings with the city continues. The LA Times (free registration required) reports that:
“The former employees of the local office of Fleishman-Hillard Inc. said they were encouraged � and sometimes told � to submit falsified time sheets to the DWP to make as much as possible from the municipal utility, which was considered a “cash cow.””
“The attitude that was handed down to us was that you get as much as you can because these accounts may dry up tomorrow,” said Greenwood, who quit Fleishman in 1999 after a year. “There was a monthly billing figure that we needed to hit, so if it meant making up stuff, we made up stuff.”
This appears to be fairly damning stuff. However, Fleishman-Hillard are actively defending the allegations:
“Anthony M. Glassman, a libel lawyer retained by Fleishman last week, called the allegations “unfounded accusations by biased sources.” He noted that former employee Greenwood is the daughter of Noel Greenwood, a former Los Angeles Times senior editor who retired in 1993, and questioned whether there was a “relationship” between other former employees and The Times.”
Kline said Fleishman could find “no allegations of unethical behavior” in the written report of Greenwood’s exit interview. “Other than recording her own personal time, Diana Greenwood had no responsibility for preparing invoices or billing any clients, including DWP,” Kline said.
There are two sides to every story. Hopefully the truth will emerge in the end…
Murphy's Law 