WAFF.com: North Alabama News, Radar, Weather, Sports and Jobs-State Worker Spies on Boss, Loses His Job
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"I had no way of knowing that this would turn out like this." Vernon Blake used to oversee hundreds of state computers. Now, he manages one, his own.
"I never dreamed that I would be fired," he said.
For 22 years, Blake was a System Administrator for the Alabama Department of Transportation. It was a job he loved, with the exception of his supervisor.
Blake said about his boss, "He was a repository of information, but beyond that, I don't believe he did a lot of work."
The running joke around the office? The boss blew off meetings and projects to play games on his computer. Cartoons secretly circled The Right of Way Bureau, jabbing at George Dobbs' Solitaire habit. Dobbs is a 24-year veteran with the DOT and rakes in $67,000 a year.
"My supervisor's work station, for him, was a personal entertainment center," Blake went on to say.
Blake claims he sent e-mails to Dobbs' supervisors, insinuating there was a problem with productivity. The letters, he says, went unanswered.
"I felt like I couldn't win," he said. "I felt if I didn't take any action, how could I face myself in the mirror every day knowing this was going on?"
Without proof, Blake felt his accusations would get him nowhere. That's when he turned to Win-Spy, a free version of spy ware, to tap his boss's computer.
"My motive was to document well known behavior that already existed."
For seven months, at random times of the day, the software captured pictures of Dobbs' computer screen.
"I was right on the mark," Blake said. "As a matter of fact, it was a lot worse than I expected."
Here's what he found. Blake says less than 10% of his boss's computer time, documented by Win-Spy, was spent working. Twenty-percent was spent checking the stock market. And 70% of what the spy ware recorded was the game of Solitaire.
"I don't believe it takes a rocket scientist to look at the screen shots and come to the conclusion that this gentleman simply did not have enough to do," Blake told the WAFF 48News Investigators.
But DOT didn't see it that way. When Blake showed them what he found, he was fired. His supervisor got a letter of reprimand, stating "It was brought to the Department's attention you spent a significant amount of time playing video games... but your work ethic and production are above reproach."
Blake said, "I just don't see how anyone can justify a slap on the wrist for the person that is wasting the time and firing a person who truly had ALDOT's and the taxpayer's best interest in mind."
It's been almost nine months, and Blake is still fighting for back pay as well as his former job. The State Personnel Board will make the final decision.
"I think they found it highly objectionable that I dared to challenge a superior," Blake added.
The Department of Transportation denied our request for an interview, saying it would be inappropriate to comment about an ongoing trial.
"I think he was putting himself in a position that he didn't have the authority to be in that case," UAH Professor of Psychology and Computer Sciences, Dan Rochowiaka commented.
Blake is being both praised and criticized for what he did. He defends, spying on his boss fit his job responsibility, that he was to give information that confirmed possible misuse of ALDOT's computers. However, those in the same field say he crossed the line.
"A System Administrator has to be trusted," Rochowiaka said. "If he loses that position of trust, if he loses that position of fairness, the whole integrity of the system is compromised."Blake, who was just three years from retirement, has no regrets.
"It was something that needed to be done, and sometimes doing the right thing can be very unpleasant."
The Personnel Board's next hearing is scheduled for August 9.
It's worth noting after Blake lost his job, DOT had all computer games, including Solitaire, removed from its system. I
f you'd like to learn more, Vernon Blake now has a web site: www.aldotwaste.com.Got a tip we need to investigate? E-mail us at www.investigators@waff.om.
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C'mon, play. You know you want to. The boss will never know.
