Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake promised a cleaner city government upon taking over from her disgraced predecessor in February.

But evidence shows the culture of corruption still thrives in Baltimore after the fur- and couture-loving former Mayor Sheila Dixon stepped down to collect an $83,000 per year pension despite stealing from poor people.

Take the sordid story of Dennis McLaughlin, which was first reported by InvestigativeVoice.com in January. The utility repairman for the Department of Public Works was finally expunged from the city workforce last month after decades of criminal activity. According to a recent Inspector General's report, he collected over $12,700 worth of pay from cash-strapped city taxpayers while serving 11 months in jail for child sex offenses, aided by another DPW employee who submitted false medical slips on his behalf.

He is in jail in Baltimore County awaiting trial later this month for impersonating a police officer, sex offenses, assault and kidnapping and was suspended without pay in January.

The employee who helped him was his mother, Joyce McLaughlin, who retired March 31, prior to the release of the IG's report. She is now collecting her full pension — call it pulling a Dixon. Other employees were implicated in the report as well. None have been fired; three were temporarily suspended.

Here are some of the findings in the report:

• Ms. McLaughlin submitted 15 medical slips on her son's behalf, each fraudulent.

• Ms. McLaughlin told DPW employees that her son was "recovering in Pennsylvania with a friend."

• Mr. McLaughlin remained on payroll despite multiple failed attempts to contact him and attendance records showing he was AWOL.

• Co-workers and supervisors became aware of Mr. McLaughlin's status as a registered sex offender while he was incarcerated in 2007-2008. As a result, several employees did not want to work with him after his return. Their concerns "were met with mixed responses, but in no case was action taken to forward the information up the chain of command for assessment or verification."

If the report wasn't not bad enough, a review of files in the Maryland Judiciary Case Search shows that Mr. McLaughlin's 2007-2008 incarceration may not have been the first time he collected a salary while behind bars. He was convicted of burglary in 2000 in Anne Arundel County and served 6 months in jail, according to state records. He was hired by the city in 1992.

Despite damning evidence against Mr. McLaughlin, his mother and the other employees, State's Attorney Patricia C. Jessamy has refused to even try to recover the sick time pay accrued fraudulently by Mr. McLaughlin or to go after his mother's pension. Her office did not return phone calls seeking comment.

Public Works Director David Scott said the three employee suspensions are meant to "send a strong message" that management will be held accountable. Mr. Scott must deal with onerous union disciplinary rules, but come on. The only message from this debacle is that crime pays when you are a city employee, and so does covering it up.

Mayor Rawlings-Blake issued an executive order in May in response to the IG report requiring city employees to report all arrests within 24 hours, save those for minor traffic violations not involving drugs or alcohol. That was the right thing to do, but who thinks someone like Mr. McLaughlin is going to self-report?

Part of annual employee reviews should include a background check. If that is not possible, then city managers should focus on those in sensitive financial positions or those like Mr. McLaughlin who regularly enter people's homes or do other critical work.

Many ex-offenders have found jobs with the city and turned their lives around. But as Mr. McLaughlin's behavior shows, the city should "trust but verify" — a favorite saying of President Reagan — especially since the Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services does not share inmate lists with employers.

Obviously Mr. McLaughlin slipped through regulatory black holes, as he already had a criminal record prior to being hired by the city and racked up multiple arrests while a DPW employee. But to compound the initial mistake of hiring him with not seeking to recover money he stole or seriously punishing those who aided and abetted him shows that there are two sets of rules in the city — one for government employees and elected officials and one for taxpayers constantly forced to pay more for people who take their money and abuse their trust repeatedly.

Marta H. Mossburg is a senior fellow at the Maryland Public Policy Institute and a fellow at the Franklin Center for Government and Public Integrity. Her column appears regularly in The Baltimore Sun. Her e-mail is martamossburg@gmail.com.