Annapolis' finance director had just finished meeting with Mayor Joshua J. Cohen on June 7, when he returned to his office as he did each day and locked the vault that protects the daily payments to the city.
The next morning, director Timothy E. Elliott was the first to arrive at the office around 7:30 a.m., he said. A courier arrived soon after to pick up the city's daily bank deposit, and Elliott made a startling discovery: the bag, containing about $154,000 in checks and cash, was gone.
Elliott, a 26-year veteran of the department who has served eight years as its director, called police immediately. He also implemented what city officials describe as new control measures to avoid future theft. But Elliott didn't tell the mayor, instead relaying the information to outgoing City Administrator Douglas E. Smith.
Somehow, the message never made it to Cohen. Smith didn't tell the mayor either, as each man believed the other had delivered the bad news.
Facing a barrage of questions from reporters, Elliott explained that his noncommunication with the mayor was "totally an oversight."
"Unfortunately, this incident happened and I did not make the call," said Elliott. "I take full responsibility. It was nothing intentional. It blew right out of my mind … as dumb as it sounds."
Elliott said he told Smith shortly after reporting the theft to police, who say they have made no arrests and are not ready to name a suspect.
It wasn't until Monday afternoon — a full seven days after the theft was reported to police — that Cohen learned of the major security breach, when a police official called to update him on the case.
The confusion has led to an embarrassing episode for the first-term mayor who has grappled with a record budget deficit and cash-flow shortages in his six-month tenure.
"The fact that I was not notified of this is unacceptable," Cohen, a Democrat, said at a City Hall news conference Tuesday afternoon, with Elliott and Police Chief Michael A. Pristoop. "The theft was literally a theft of taxpayers' dollars and a betrayal of our responsibility to be stewards of public money."
Of the 21 employees in the department, four, including Elliott, have access to the vault combination and a key to the safe inside. Pristoop would not say if police were concentrating their investigation on employees, saying investigators are "looking at all possibilities."
It's not clear whether the money was in the vault by the time Elliott locked it. That afternoon the city cashier placed the money on top of the safe before leaving work. The money bag usually was placed inside the safe, but could not fit because it was already full with other items, according to Elliott's account.
When Elliott returned to the office, just a few employees remained. He said he closed the door to the vault, but does not remember whether or not the bag was on top of the safe.
The bag contained nearly $150,000 in checks, which were stamped "for deposit only," and about $4,000 in cash. Elliott said his employees immediately began calling check writers to ask them to cancel the checks and reissue their payments to the city. Elliott said the city has regained about $110,000 in funds, but has pledged to pay the bank fees for canceled checks. The payments include parking fees, property taxes and water bills.
Cohen ducked questions about Elliott's fitness to continue in his position, repeating his disdain for the lax communication. He said any internal personnel matters "are being handled appropriately." Elliott was already in his position when Cohen took office last December.
Smith, the mayor's top aide, announced his resignation in April amid mounting political pressure. His contract expires at the end of this month, when the mayor is expected to name a new administrator. Smith plans to stay on through that transition.
"It was my assumption that he had told the mayor," said Smith. "We're all embarrassed that this happened. We could have done a better job of informing the mayor — no question."
Cohen has touted transparency as a top goal of his administration, and political observers say it was important for the mayor to act quickly once he was informed.
Dan Nataf, director of the Center for the Study of Local Issues at Anne Arundel Community College, said Cohen needs to "look assertive" and quickly determine the "severity of the proper reprimand."
"The mayor talks about transparency and accountability, and oh yeah, cover up — those do not go together," said Nataf. "Politically, it's not desirable for the mayor to seem out of touch with his administration. It seems inexcusable not to have informed the mayor right away. I suppose you could say you shouldn't have someone like that in your administration."
Alderman Ross H. Arnett III, said he was reserving judgment until all the facts were known. The important thing, Arnett said, was to apprehend the thief and to ensure safeguards against future thefts.
"Tim has been going 190 miles an hour for the last six months," said Arnett, a Democrat representing Eastport, describing Elliott's workload during budget season. "He's way too valuable an employee to fire. I'm not interested in hanging anybody's scalp on my belt."
Alderman Frederick M. Paone called both the theft and the apparent lax reporting of the incident "very disappointing."
"It's inexcusable," said Paone, a Republican. "I think something needs to be done so that this never happens again. It's ridiculous. I can't imagine why the mayor wasn't told. Communication ought to be set up well enough so this cannot happen."