ORLANDO, Fla. — The independent law firm hired to investigate misspending at the University of Central Florida is now defending its investigation after several former employees claimed in testimony it was done in a biased fashion.
UCF called the independent investigation by the firm Bryan, Cave, Leighton, Paisner to look into how the university spent money to build Trevor Colbourn Hall.
In testimony released Monday, one former employee said the board of trustees should’ve been investigated because she believes they are all covering for themselves in this scandal by scapegoating people at lower levels.
Some UCF employees fired during the Colbourn Hall scandal involving the misuse of state dollars said they were pushed out to save the university’s leaders.
In sworn testimony, Priscilla Kernek, the former associate vice president for facilities and safety, said she was wrongfully terminated because of an independent investigation she and many others feel was not really done independently.
She said after saving the university and taxpayers millions of dollars through efficiencies such as energy saving and cost avoidance through contracting, she believes she was scapegoated by trustee Marcos Marchena and Dale Whittaker, who was put in place by Marchena.
Several finance, budget and facilities staffers—who counseled then-president John Hitt, provost Whittaker and the board of trustees—said they were not the ones who made the decision to use state money earmarked for salaries and operational costs to build Colbourn Hall.
But they believe they were forced out to save face when the information became public.
Former Chief Financial Officer William Merck said in testimony that he “absolutely did not think they investigation would be unbiased.”
In a four-page letter, the firm Bryan, Cave, Leighton, Paisner said its work was not influenced by any board of trustees member or UCF official.
The letter said there is simply no merit to any claim that UCF attempted in any way to influence the findings.
In that letter, the firm said the reason it was hired was because it had no existing or even recent relationship with UCF.
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