City worker quietly held job while facing drug rap

City worker quietly held job while facing drug rap

FLAHERTY-DELANO
By Richard Weir  |   Saturday, March 19, 2011  |  http://www.bostonherald.com  |  Local Coverage

A City Hall staffer — who has quietly kept her job for eight months while awaiting trial for allegedly peddling prescription amphetamines in South Boston — was put on paid administrative leave yesterday after a Herald inquiry.

Kristine Flaherty-Delano, a $53,934-a-year administrative assistant in the city’s Property and Construction Management Department — and the sister of a scheduling secretary for Mayor Thomas M. Menino — was nabbed by Boston cops July 29 for allegedly selling Adderall within 1,000 feet of a school.

Adderall, a combination of dextroamphetamine and amphetamine, is used to treat ADHD and narcolepsy but is commonly abused as an upper.

Flaherty-Delano, 43, is due to stand trial in May and faces up to 15 years in prison if convicted of the most serious charges.

Flaherty-Delano’s attorney, Gary McGillvray, said his client strongly denies the charges. “They have no case,” he said. “I am 100 percent confident that my client will be acquitted.”

Menino spokeswoman Dot Joyce said City Hall had no knowledge of Flaherty-Delano’s criminal charges — despite multiple court appearances, including one yesterday in Boston Municipal Court — until the Herald inquired about her employment status yesterday.

“She has been put on paid administrative leave pending the outcome of the court proceedings and an internal review,” Joyce said. When asked when the leave took effect, Joyce replied: “Today.”

“The administration was not aware of the charges,” Joyce continued. “Her supervisor was aware of a court date but was unaware of the charge.”

According to city policy, only public safety workers are required to report their arrests. All other unionized municipal workers are exempt.

Police searched Flaherty-Delano in July after she got out of a car at West 5th and D streets, near the JF Condon School, court documents state. Officers found a bottle with 5A Adderall pills — and another seven Adderall pills in the car —as well as $94 cash, according to court documents.

Flaherty-Delano is the third City Hall staffer accused of dealing drugs in the past 16 months. John M. Forbes, Menino’s former East Boston liaison, pleaded guilty in federal court in October to dealing OxyContin and cocaine. Another city worker reportedly pleaded not guilty that month to charges he picked up a package containing nearly 2,000 OxyContin pills at a FedEx Kinkos downtown.

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