Toronto milked by city employees

Toronto municipal employees milked the city of nearly $1 million last year, an audit of Toronto's expenses published Tuesday found. City Auditor General Jeff Griffiths told the City Council's audit committee hundreds of complaints were received alleging fraud by city workers, of which 53 cases were confirmed. The majority of the $939,000 in alleged fraud involved employees having second jobs that overlapped with their city employment, the Toronto Star reported. In some cases, unidentified employees were found to be holding down second jobs with contractors working on city contracts, the Star said. The audit said one employee was fired for claiming 11 sick days for a personal event. Another worker who is still being investigated was suspended for undisclosed reasons, then retired and was being paid full benefits. Toronto, which is Canada's largest city and financial hub, is facing a deficit of more than $750 million. Since being elected in 2010, self-described fiscal conservative Mayor Rob Ford has often repeated his campaign pledge to sever the "gravy train" policies of past liberal mayors with strong organized labor affiliations.