PHOTOS: City Workers Busted Playing Cards
VIDEO: Investigation Busts City Workers On Long Lunches

ORLANDO, Fla. -- A Channel 9 investigation uncovered that Orlando city workers' lunch breaks were lasting hours. When cameras showed up, they scattered and only Channel 9 has the video that's launched a major investigation at city hall.

Video

Channel 9 Investigation Busts City Workers On Long Lunches

The workers were supposed to be fixing potholes and improving road drainage, instead they were playing cards. Eyewitness Bob Howard says he's seen the crews out at Roosevelt Martin Park for at least the past six months.

"They're out here for approximately three hours. Then they do something else and they roll out," says Howard.

Channel 9 cameras caught the roads and drainage crews five different times. And even though the crews only get a half-hour lunch break, they were almost always out longer. One water truck once spent two and a half hours at the park. His co-workers were there over two hours several times.

While they played, the potholes outside Regina Faber's business grew deeper.

"I scrape it a lot, which is pretty frustrating," says Faber.

So after watching them for an hour and a half one day last week, Channel 9 decided to flush them out, but no one had much to say about their lunch break.

The five city workers split fast. In their haste to get out of there, though, they forgot one player who was left running on his own. After a little exercise, someone came back to get him.

Channel 9 showed our tape to the city's public works director, Alan Oyler.

"Frankly, I'm disappointed," says Oyler.

He says the employees actually admitted to the lunch breaks after Channel 9 caught them. They're making changes so that supervisors have more contact with employees and would be more apt to catch this.

Regina Faber says it's about time.

"I think somebody should be watching, to make sure they're doing what they're paid to do," Faber says.

Because of the Channel 9 investigation, city workers Donnel Cooper and Donald Graham received three-day suspension along with two other men, while Eric Linton received a one-day suspension.