MINNEAPOLIS PARK & RECREATION BOARD

,..---.~

HUMAN RESOURCES DEPARTMENT

2117

:1
Page iof 2 Revised: 6/12/2012

W. River Rd. I Mpls., M N

55411

Corrective Action/ Discipline Documentation

Corrective Action/Discipline Documentation

Employees Nametlashhtm Yonis Employees Job Title:YOUth Program Specialist Supervisor: INCIDENT INFORMATION Date/Time of lncident:~WlY 18, 2013 Description of Incident:
. . -

I
Employee iD:104126 Union:_______________________ Phone:

Please type or print in ink Attach additional pages for comments if necessary. Send signed and completed forms to HR. EMPLOYEE INFORMATION
.

Location of Incident:C~~_Park

Receiving money rent?l of field without giving the money to the Park Board.
Witnesses to Incident:5~ report Was this incident in violation of MPRB Policy, Rules &/or Civil Service Rules? 0 No ~Yes, policy(ies)/rule(s) violated & how:

csc Rules 11.03(8)4, 8,10,13,15,18,19

Has the impropriety of the employees actions been explained to the employee? explanation for the conduct? (Explain): Did not take money Employee was informed of charges on (date)8 9/2013 ~ The employed was given the.opportunity to respond atthe pre-determination meeting held on (date)822~2013 The employee failed to appear at the pre-determination meeting held on (date)_______________ 0 No ~ Yes, did the employee offer any

C U,

PRE-DETERMINATION HEARING only required if Suspension, Demotion, or Termination is recomitiended.

o The employee waived the opportunity to a pre-determination meeting in writing. Attach copies ofthenot~fication of pre-determinotion hearing letter, documentation, & notice offinol decision letter given to employee. CORRECTIVE ACTION PLAN Plan for correcting the problem: Termination CORRECTIVE ACTION TAKEN Supv and Frm/MgrApprov.al Required: 0 verbal warning Dir., Asst Supt, HR Mgr, and Superintendent Approval Required: 0 Suspension (w/o pay)# of days Demotion (Attach Hire/Job Change Form) Termination

o
~

written Warning

9/~s /,s
ending

t-fc,
total working days Date:_________________

EFFECTIVE DATE(S) OF ACTION Permanent: effective (date/time): Immediate Supervisors Signature:

.

Temporary: beginning

Ui

Foreman/Managers Signature: Date: EMPLOYEE ACKNOWLEDGEMENT I acknowledge that I have read & understand this disciplinary documentation form & the following notice of legal nghts Employees Signature Date
.

Discipline Documentation COMMENTS & SIGNATURES required for: Suspension, Demotion, or Termination Directors Signature: Comments: Assistant Superintendents Signature:______________________________________________________ Date Date:___________________

~7.~t/ 7)

Human Resources Managers Signature:________________________________________________ Date Comments:_____________

/~

Superintendents Signature:_________________________________________________________ Date________________ Comments: NOTICE TO EMPLOYEES OF Lt~AL1*IGH]jth Discharge & Probationary Release V Probationary Non-Veteran Employees: Employees who have not passed probation & are not eligible veterans do not have a right to a hearing before the Civil Service Commission (CSC). Veteran Employees [Probationary & Regular (permanent)]: Any classified employee, holding a position by appointment or employed with the MPRB & who is a veteran separated from the U.S. military service under honorable conditions, has a right to a hearing prior to discharge, probationary release, involuntary demotion, or disciplinary suspen~ion in excess of3o days- No MPRB employee who is a veteran can be removed or demoted except for incompetence or misconduct shown after a hearing, upon due notice, & upon stated charges presented in writing. Temporary employees who are veterans-do not have a rightto a hearing. Regular (permanent) Non-Veteran Employees have a right to a hearing by CSC upon written reguest: Non-veterans who have passed probation areregular (permanent) employees. Discharge Rules require that the discharge must be for cause, that charges must be in writing & that the employee has a right to a hearing. Temporary Suspension During Investigation of Charges by CSC in cases of Discharge or Probationary Release (Veterans Only): Employees who have appealed in a timely manner maybe temporarily suspended from the time the recommendation for discharge is served to allow time for investigation of investigation of the charges by the CS-C. Such suspension may be for 90 calendar days, or until the CSC completes the investigation of the charges, whichever is sooner. Suspension & Involuntary Demotion Veteran Employees [Probationary & Regular (permanent)]: Any classified employee holding a position by appointment or emplo~rnent with the MPRB, & is a veteran separated from the U.S. military service under honorable conditions, has a rightto a hearing prior to discharge, probationary release, involuntary demotion, or disciplinary suspension in exce~s of3o days. No MPRB employee who is a veteran can be removed or demoted except for incompetence or misconduct shown after a hearing, upon due notice, & upon stated charges in writing. Disciplinary Suspension or Demotion: Employees may l~e suspended without pay for disciplinary reasons &/or for substandard performance, dither temporarily (up to a8o days) or permanently. Regular (permanent) employees may appeal any perthanent demotion &Jor salary decrease. Requesting a Hearing IMPORTANT: the employee should refer to the Civil Service Rules &/or the oppropriote labor contract to determine what, if any, appeal rights (s)he moy have. The employee may choose whether to appeal this action through the CSC or through processes available through the labor contract, but may not appeal through both. Reguesting a hearing: Non-Veterans: A written request for hearing must be mailed to the CSC within ao calendar days of when this notice was served in person or was receipted for at the employees ast known address. The ao days are counted from the first day the notice was personally served or the date the notice was receipted by certified mail. If the tenth day falls on a Saturday, Sunday, or legal holiday, the request may be served on or before the following business day. The day on postmark must be within that sn-day period. The request for a hearing may be accompanied bythe employees statement of his/her-version of the case. If such a request is not received within in days, the employees name will be removed form the service register. Reguesting a Hearing: Veterans: A written request for hearing must be mailed to the CSC within Go calendar days of when the notice was served in person or was receipted for at the employees last known address. The Go days are counted from the first day after the notice was personally served or the date the notice was receipted by certified mail. If the 60th day falls on a Saturday, Sunday, or legal holiday, the request may be served on or before the following business day. The date of postmark must be within that Go-day period. The request for a hearing may be accompanied by the employees statement of his or her version of the case, If such a request is not received within Go days, the veterans name will be removed form the service register.

(I

All Requests for a Hearing & Appeals Should Be Mailed to: Mpls. HR Dept. /CSC, 2505. 4 St., rm. aoo, Mpls., MN55415-1339 Distribution: Original: Human Resources Entered into HRIS by: Copy: Union _______________________________ Copy: Supervisor Date: Copy: Employee 2

August 22, 2013 Hashirn Yonis 3458 James Ave. N. Minneapolis, Mn, 55412 Subject: D etennination Meeting Dear Mr. Yonis: You had your pre-determination meeting on Wednesday, August 21, 2013 at 2:30 p.m. at the MPR.B Headquarters in the Powderhorn Room. The purpose of that meeting was to allow you the opportunity to respond to the yiolations listed below in compliance with the labor agieement with the Minneapolis Park Board and MPEA; On July 18, 2013 information was received that you were renting out Currie field since May of 2013 but no deposits of money collected was made to the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board. Subsequently an investigation was ordered (see attached). Based on the information and documentation we have gathered relating to the charges and your coimnents at the pre-determination meeting, it has been determined that you have violated the Civil Service Commission Rules and City policies and procedures cited below: CSC Rule 11.03(B)(8) Misappropriation of City property, funds or money.

CSC Rule 11.03(B)(10) Discourtesy to public or fellow employees.

CSC Rule 11.03@)(13) Criminalor dishonest conduct unbecoming to a public employee, whether such conduct was committed while on duty or off duty.

CSC Rule 11.03~B)(15) Soliciting or receiving funds for political purposes or personal gain during work.

CSC Rule 11.03(B)(18) Violation of department rules, policies, procedures or City ordinance. CSC Rule 11.O3~B)(19) Knowingly making a falseinaterial statement to the Citys representative during an investigation into employment related misconduct. CSC Rule 11.03 (B)(4)

Insubordination.

Based on all the information and documentation gathered and provided to you it has been determined that there is just cause to terminate your employment at the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board effective immediately. Any and all property of the Park Board must be turned in immediately to Assistant Superintendent Nicholas Williams. This includes, but is not limited, to employment ID. badge, keys, uniforms; laptop, and cell phone. Shic rel

J. Ni olas V! iams Ass t t erintendent for Recreation Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board cc: MPEA Teresa Chailca, MPRB Human Resources

August 19, 2013 Hashim Yonis 3458 James Ave. N. Minneapolis, Mn, 55412 Subject: Predetermination Meeting DearMr.Yonjs:

1*I

jflth ANNIVERSARY.

Your attendance is required at a meeting on Wednesday, August 21, 2013 atjb p.m. at the MPRB Headquarters in the Powderhorn Room. The purpose of the meeting is to allow you the opportunity to respond to the violation listed below in compliance with the labor agreement with the Minneapolis Park Board and IvLPEA; On July 18, 2013 information was received that you were renting out Currie field since May of 2013 but no deposits of money colleeted was made to the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board. Subsequently an investigation was ordered (see attached). Based on the information and documentation we have gathered relating to the charges, it has been determined that you may have violated the Civil Servi~e Commission Rules and City policies and procedures cited below: CSC Rule 11.03(B)(8) Misappropriation of City property, funds or money. See attached report

CSC Rule 11.03(B)(1O) Discourtesy to public or fellow employees; See attached report

CSC Rule 11.03(B)(13) Criminal or dishonest conduct unbecoming to a public employee, whether such conduct was committed while on duty or off duty. See attached report

CSC Rule 11.O3B)(15) Soliciting or receiving funds for political purposes or personal gain during work. See attached report

CSC Rule 11.03(B)(18) Violation of department rules, policies, procedures or City ordinance.

See attachedreport CSC Rule 11.03(B)(19) Knowingly making a false material statement to the Citys representative during an investigation into employment related misconduct. See attached report

Civil Service Commission Rule 11.03 (B)(4)

Insubordination.

On July 26, 2013 you were placed on paid administrative leave pending the investigation relating to Currie Field. You received a letter instructing you not to have contact with MPRB staff other than me or Teresa Chaika, HR. On two separate occasions staff received emails from your Facebook account to Park Board email addresses asking for support for your political campaign.

At the meeting, you will be given an opportunity to respond to the above violation.. You may have a Union representative present as pennitted in your labor agreement. If you choose to have Union representation, it is your responsibility to make any arrangements with the Union for the presence of a representative. Sincerely,

J. Nich AssistantSupefintendent for Recreation Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board cc: MPEA Teresa Chaika, MPRB Human Resources

Summary of Investigation On July 25, 2013, Manager of Human Resources Teresa Chailca contacted me and requested that I conduct an investigation into whether Youth Program Specialist Hashim Yonis took money given to him by citizens to use Currie Field. The following is a summary of my investigation. Documents received Permit # 12881 dated July 16, 2013 for Mosse Mope to use Curie Fields every Saturday and Sunday from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m., July 20-August 11. Pennittee charged $ 4S0.00 in cash and permit was filled out by Sai~ah Cedarblade. Receipt for Permit # 12881 for $ 480. Permit # 12965 datecPJuly 22, 2013 for Moises Hernandez to use Curie Fields on June29 & 30, 2013. Permit does not indicate any money was received. Permit was filled out by Sarah Cedarblade. Other permits for Curie Fields: # 12424 for Hashim Yonis dated June 19, 2013 filled out by Hashim Yonis. No cost: Permit cancelled. # 11157 for Hashim Yonis for Youthline Soccer (several dates April-July) dated April 23, 2013 filled out by Sarah Cedarblade. No cost. #4548 for Olubusayo Phillips for soccer tournament dated April 23, 2013 filled out by Sarah Cedarblade. Cost of 150. # 10772 for Olubusayo Phillips for soccer tournament dated April 2, 2013 filled out by Sara Cedarblade. No cost. # 9215 for Masjid Shaafici Cultural Center for Bid Gathering dated January 31, 2013 filled out by Sarah Cedarbiade. Cost of$ 20Q. # 7183 for Brian Coyle Comnunity Center for Coyle soccer dated Qctober 3, 2012 filled out by Sarah Cedarbiade. No cost. # 7072 for Brian Coyle Community Center for soccer pratice dated September 26, 2012 filled out by Sarah Cedarblade~ No cost. # 7043 for Abdirahman Idle for Adult soccer dated September 25, 2012 filled out by Sarah Cedarblade. No cost. # 6538 for Masjid Shaafici Cultural Center for Bid Celebration dated August 20, 2012 filled out by Sarah Cedarblade. Cost of$ 150. e # 5267 for Hashim Yois for Youthline Soccer dated August 20, 2012 filled out by Sarah Cedarbiade. No cost. Pcnnit was cancelled. # 6456 for Cedar Riverside West Bank Safety forNight Out basketball filled out by Sarah Cedarblade. No cost. # 6361 for Masjid Shaafici Cultural. Center for soccer practice dated August 10, 2012 filled out by Sarah Cedarblade. Cost of$ 150. # 5569 for Police Athletic League for PAL soccer (several dated JuneAugust) dated June 13; 2012 filled out by Sarah Cedarblade. No cost. # 5424 for Police Athletic League for PAL soccer league dated June.5, 2012 filled out by Sarah Cedarblade. No cost.

Email string beginning with email from Mohamed Jama, General Director of Cedar Riverside Youth Council, to Larry Umphrey dated July18, 2013 reading P.S. the rent fee Mexican Tournament and Memorial Day Tournament in May and June. Mr. Yonis, Charged the organizers about $ 460 [ejvery weekend. The community will like to know where the money is being taken to. Please Contact, Moise Hernaudes, 651-447-9870 (cell) ASAP. Position Description for Youth Program Specialist Various frnancial reports for parks surrounding Currie and for Hashirn Yonis Schedules for May, June & July 2013 for Latino soccer teams run by Moise Hernandez Emails between Sarah Cedarbiade and Hashim Yonis for July 2013 Two Statements of Moise Hernandez taken by Sgt. Rick Doll on July25 and 26, 2013 July 26, 2013 Interview by Sgt. Rick Doll of Hashim Yonis Emails between Cynthia Wilson, Sarah Cedarblade and Hashim Yonis between April 1,2013 and August 1,2013 June 27, 2013 email from Moharned Jama to Commissioner Vreeland attaching a June 22~ letter and petition to have Yonis removed froth ~urrie.

Interview with Al Bangora On July 25, 2013, I interviewed Al Bangora, Director of Recreation Centers and Programs. Bangora advised me that Currie Park was renovated in 2011. At the time, the Somali Conmiunity wanted to manage (i.e. run) the field. Commissioner Vreeland advised Bangora and Larry Urnphrey that Currie field would be a community driven, public field arid it would not be permitted by the Park Board, Instead, a Somali Community committee would decide how it would be used. Bangora and Umphrey met with members of the Somali Community and gave them a template they could use (if they wanted) to schedule the field. Bangora said he does not know if the Somali Community charges for use of the field although he believes they do not. If they do, the Park Board does not get any part of the fee. Bangora is unsure whether anyone above him was aware that the Coninunity ran the fields. He said that the Park Board does provide external maintenance for the field. Bangora said that there is no Youthline staff assigned to Currie Park. He does not know what Yonis directive is, but does know he spends a lot of time at the Coyle Center. The park was under Cynthia Wilsons CSA but now is under Larry Umphrey. Bangora said that he was recently advised by Umphrey that the Community told him that Yonis was the manager of the fields and that he was scheduling a Latino group to play on the weekends since Memorial Day. This would not be within Yonis job description. After Urnphrey started asking questions, Yonis texted Umphrey that he had heard Umphrey was at Currie Park. Bangora said he thinks Yonis has been alerted that people are aware of the issue, because now there are permits for Currie fields being issued by Sarah Cedarblade.

I asked B angora about the email string starting with Mohammed Jama, wherein he (Bangora) stated that he was going to ask Cynthia Wilson about Yonis managing the fields and he said he did not do so because there was going to be an investigation. Interview with Larry Umphrey On July 25, 2013 I interviewed Larry Urnphrey. Umphrey advised me that when Cynthia Wilson was off work with the Park Board due to her termination in 2010, Umphrey took over her CSA which included ~urrie Park. In March, 2011 he had multiple conversations with ConmuEssioner Vreeland, and his direction was that Currie field would not be permitted or rented; it would be a community/public park. Umphrey said he advised then-Assistant Superintendent of Recreation Corky Wiseman of the decision. Umphrey gave Pillsbury United a template to schedule the fields. In July 2011, Umphrey moved to North Minneapolis and did not have any further contact with Currie until about two weeks ago when he took over as Manager of-the area that includes Currie. Umphrey stated that he was working with the Coyle Center on the Owlz prograim Night Owlz started on Friday, July 12th~ Umphrey was at the Center and was outside in the park. Mohamed Jama approached-him and said he was boncerned about the scheduling of the field. Jarna said that a Latino group was renting the field on Saturdays and Sundays and the Community was upset. Umphrey gave Jama his email address and told Jarna that the field was not supposed to be i5ermitted out. Umphrey asked Jama if he thought the Latinos were just showing up early and then monopolizing the field (which would be allowed) and Jama said no, that they were going through Yonis. Umphrey asked for the Latino s contact information.
.-

On Tuesday, July ~ limphrey got a call from Yonis asking ho~v to deposit $ 400 and some dollars for a rental at Currie Park. Uniphrey said he was thinking about how it could be done because Currie does not have a MPRB center, and so was thinking it should be attached to a center like Luxton or Mathews or through-Tim in Youth Sports. He told Yonis that if he had money, he had to go through ActiveNet and print out a receipt. He did not see his conversation as giving permission for Yonis to get Cedarbiade to issue a permit. On July 18th at about 3 p.m., Umphrey had a meeting with the Cedar Riverside Youth Council at the Cedar Riverside apartments. Jama told Umphrey that the Latinos were paying for the field and that Yonis was the field manager. About 3:45 p.m., Urnphrey drove to headquarters and called the Latino contact, Hemandez, whose name he received from Jama via email. Hernandez acknowledged it was he who answered the phone and then handed it to a woman Who spoke better English. Umphrey asked if they were paying to use the Currie fields and they said yes, on Saturdays and Sundays. They were paying $ 400-and some. Umphrey asked who they were paying and they said a young Somali guy. Umphrey asked if it was Yonis, and they said yeah, yeah, yeah. Urnphrey asked how they paid Yonis and they said they paid in cash. Umphrey felt they were worried. About twenty minutes. afier Umphrey spoke to Herhandez, Yonis called and texted him. The initial text indicates that Hernandez had called Yonis and told him that 3

Urnphrey had spoken to him. Umphrey said he was working on a field schedule for Coyle/Currie and was checking with everyone who was using it. Umphrey said that he then reported this to Bangora and to the police. Umphry said he supervised Yonis for about six months before moving to the northside, and would check on him because Yonis had an odd schedule and Umphrey had suspicions that Yonis was not working when he said he was, but would always be there when Umphi-ey checked on him. Uinphrey said that the scuttlebutt is that Yonis is not always where he should be but lie personally has seen nothing to back that up. Yonis is at Coyle a lot. Interview with Sarah Cedarblade On July 26, 2012 1 interviewed Sarah Cedarbiade. Cedarblade is a Recreation Leader and usually works out of Mathews Park. Last year Cedarblade had to handle Currie Park including any permitting, making sure the bathrooms were locked and certif~,ing the coaches. She also had to handle any problems that caine up. This year, Cedarblade said she would no longer handle Cuffie as it is outside her job duties. Cedarblade said that Yonis then came to her to issue permits because he does not know how to enter information into ActiveNet.. He would give her the information and she would look to see what it would cost, and then he would bring her the money. With respect to Peimit # 12881, Cedarblade said that Yonis caine to her on July 16th and had $ 480.00 for a permit for Currie fields but said he did not know the permittees name. He gave Cedarblade the name Mosse Moye. Cedarblade asked for an address and Yonis said he did not have one so Cedarblade entered the address for Mathews Park. She said the money is still in the safe at Mathews. I asked what she would normally do with the money and she said she would code it to the Mathews revolving account and then if Yonis wanted cash he would ask her for it. There is no ledger; she has a rough idea of how much money he has given her. Cedarblade said that Yonis has only given her cash. twice; for Pennit # 12881 and for # 12955. Cedarbiade said that the receipt for Mosse Moye was emailed to Yonis. Everything that is On # 12881 Yonis told her to put in. I asked if she questioned the fact that he said it was for a soccer tournament but was for several weekends in a row. She said it is not her job to question him. With respect to Permit # 12955, Cedarblade said that Yonis came to her on Monday, July 22nd and had a sheet of paper with Hernandezs name and address and said that this was the correct information for the permittee on Permit # 12881. Cedamblade said she did not
know how to amend a permit and would need to talk to Huy, director at Luxton, who is their ActiveNet guru. Yonis gave Cedarblade 5 440 and asked her to issue a permit for

June 29 & 30 for Hernandez. Cedarbiade said she felt uncomfortable issuing a back dated permit and also the amount seemed wrong but she did fill out Permit # 12955 and took the 5 440. Her intention was to talk to Umphrey about it. The money is in her safe. Cedarbiade said that Yon4s called her later and said that he had fixed the permits. Cedamblade also said that when she pulled up the Hernandez name, the person owes Dave
I took photographs of the texts and they are included as part of my investigation.

Garmany $ 13,000. She called Huy and Huy must have called Yonis because on Wednesday or Thursday Yonis called and said that his Hernandez was not the same person as the one who owed the money. Cedarblade said that there are always people playing on the currie field; she does not know why some games are permitted and others are not. On July 29, 2013, 1 followed up with Cedarblade. Sgt. Doll had advised me that when Yonis spoke to him on Friday, July 2&, Yonis had told Doll that Mosse Moye was someone different than Moise Hernandez, and that although the dates/times they were supposed to use the fields the same, Somalis and Latinos just work things out. Thus, I wanted to confirm with Cedarblade what Yonis had told her on Monday July 22~ about the permittees. Cedarblade said Yonis was absolutely clear to her that Mosse Moye and Moise Hernandez were the same person. Cedarbiade said she even followed up with Huy last Wednesday to ask how she could amend a permit because they were the same person. Summary of Sgt. Dolls Interviews with Moise Hernandez On July 25, 2013, Sgt. Rick Doll interviewed Moise Hernandez over the phone through an interpreter. Hernandez told Doll the following: He paid Hashim $ 440 for 11 hours of use of Currie fields for June29 & 30, 2013 He has paid Hashim for every Saturday & Sunday for a while now. He has given Hashim $ 440 every week for four~weeks with the fifth week being the upcoming weekend (7/27 & 7/28) He pays in cash He doesnt get a receipt from Hashim They have to leave at 6 p.th. on Sundays because the Somalis have a tournament that starts at 6 p.m. As long as you let us continue playing, even if you dont want to give me a receipt, thats fine. Bin just let us continue playing.. .because my people dont have any other place to go play. He asked to meet with Sgt. Doll in person.

On July 26, 2013, Sgt. Doll interviewed Hernandez in person. Hernandez told him the following: He paid cash to Hashim every week. He personally gave it to Hashim. He started paying Hashim the first weekend in May-May 4th ~ 5th It is not always $ 440 each week, it depends on how many hours they play each week He told Sgt. Doll previously that he started to pay on June 29th because Hashim told him to say he started on the 29~ because they dont allow renting the fields for long periods of time. He was afraid if he told the truth he would not be able to use the fields.anymore. 5

Summary of Sgt. Dolls Interview of Hashim Yonis On July 26, 2012, Sgt. Doll interviewed Hashim Yonis. Yonis told Doll the following: Permit # 12881 dated 7/16/13 for Mosse Moye was issued for the Muslim Ramadan. The person gave him $ 480 for the permit which he gave to Sarah Cedarbiade. He may have misspelled the permittees name. That is the only permit he has for that person. It is a different person than the person who he got the $ 440 from. He also gave Cedarbiade 440$ for use of the fields by a Latino guy named Hernandez. Someone referred Hernandez to him and Hernandez said h would like to rent the fields. He said lie could talk to Sarah, and she gave him the amounts for rental. He called Hernandez back to say it would be $ 40/hour because he lived outside the city. Hernandez gave him 440$ for use of the fields June 29 & 30, and paid him the next Sunday. He held on to the money because he did not know what to do with it Hernandez brought him $1300 hst Saturday (7/20) and it is in his office at Luxton Park. He has notes that show when Hernandezs teams played. Hemandez never rented the fields before June 29tN Sarah will create the permits for the times covered by the $1300 or $13202 at Luxton and then email him the receipt. He is not trained to issue a permit or receipt. If the play time for Hernandezs group and the Somali group overlap, they negotiate. Everyone works together.

Interview with Hashim Yonis On August 1, 2013, I interviewed Hashim Yonis. Yonis has worked as a Youth Program Specialist for the Park Board since the end of2OlO. He does youth programming at Luxton and Mathews Parks, and until recently, at Van Cleeve Park. He also does programming at Currie Park. He has an office at Luxton. Yonis says he was trained to create youth programs on ActiveNet. All of his activities
are free.

Yonis could not explain permit # 12424, which indicates that he issued the permit to himself on June 19th from Luxton Park and then cancelled it. He said someone could have used his password or he could have been being trained by Huy Nguyen, but did not know anything else about the permit.

Originally Yonis told Doll thatthere was $1300 at Luxton; when he told Doll it covered three weekends

at $ 440 per weekend, Doll told him that would add up to $ 1320.00. Yonis then referred to it as $1300 or $1320.

Yonis said that he shares an office with Nguyen and that Nguyen is the guru about all issues related to ActiveNet. Yonis said that if he has questions about ActiveNet, Nguyen is the guy to go to. Yonis said he has never received any training on the Park Boards policies on receiving money and making deposits. Yonis says he is not aware how Currie fields are scheduled. I asked if he was ever told that the Somali Community schedules the field, and he said that the community comes to him if they want to use the fields. Yonis stated that Currie Park is public property and anyone can use it. I asked what he has scheduled on Currie field and he said he had scheduled PAL soccer but that he did not issue a permit for PAL. He said he keeps track of the use of Currie on his calendar. I asked for a copy of his calendar and he said he did not know where it wasthat it could be at one of the parks [Luxton or Mathews], or in his car or at his home.3 Yonis said that in addition to PAL, he scheduled the fields for Hernandez and also for the Ramadan soccer tournament. I asked if he had anything to do with the April 2, 2013 permit issued to Olubusayo Phillips for the Cuffie field and he said no. He also said he was not involved in issuing the January 31, 2013 permit for the 2013 Bid celebration. He said he may have referred both of them to Cedarblade to issue permits. He said that in the last week hi May, he and Cynthia Wilson and Cedarbiade had email communication saying that Yonis would be taking over the scheduling of Currie. Yonis said he first met Moises Hernandez when Hernandez approached him on the Currie fields to ask about renting the field. Yonis first said the meeting was probably a week or so before the first rental of June 29th, but then said it was around the end of May. Hernandez probably approached Yonis on a Thursday, at the end of May.4 Yonis said he charged Hernandez 40$/hour to rent the field because Hernandez told Yonis that he lived outside of Minneapolis. Yonis cabnot recall what address he was given but Hernandez said he lived outside of Minneapolis. The only time Yonis discussed with anyone from the Park Board the amount of money he charged Hemandez was when he gave the $ 440 to Cedarblade. Yonis said that he got the $ 1320 found at Luxton from Hernandez for rentals after June 29 & 30~. It was~ for three weeks of rental on Saturdays and Sundays. The money he got from Hernandez was in cash, mostly twenties. He was paid over a period of time, usually on the Sunday that the group played but sometimes the next Sunday. Hernandez always paid after his group had actually played. Yonis said that his calendar would reflect when Hernandezs team played.

Larry Umphrey looked for a calendar at all of Yonis parks and found nothing. I asked if it was the last Thursday in May but he just said it was the end of May. The closest I could narrow him down to the actual date was that it was sometime after May 15th In my second interview with Yonis, however, he said it was the last week in May.

Yonis said he never provided Hernandez with a receipt, but Cedarbiade would email Yonis a receipt and then if Hernandez asked for receipt he would have provided it. Yonis said he never gave Hernandez a receipt because he has never been trained in the protocols of giving receipts and he did not have a receipt book. When I asked if he understood how important it was to give a receipt, he said he was not trained. He also said that there is no computer at Currie Park to issue a pennit or give a receipt. He insisted that he was not trained to give a receipt, including to simply write on a piece of paper that money was received. He also said that his Community works on trust. Yonis said he was told by Cynthia Wilson to get the money and, talce it to Cedarblade which I did repeatedly.5 Yonis said that this directive is in emails. The ernails between he, Wilson and Cedarblade will indicate that Yonis will take over scheduling Currie and any money that is gathered will. go directly to Cedarblade. With respect to the email he sent to Cedarblade on July 19th stating that he had Currie park rental money, he said that the rental money to which he feferred included the $1320.00 that was found at Luxton. I asked why Yonis did not immediately deposit the $1320 or ask someone to do so, and he said that it was in a safe place, he did not have the technology at Currie, and he did not ask Nguyen to do it because he was not part of the conversation about Currie Park, it was he, Cedarbiade and Wilson. With respect to Permit # 12965 issued at 6:03 p.m. on July 23, 2012 by Cedarblade to Moise F{emandez, Yonis was at fn-st very evasive about his input into creating the permit. Eventually he admitted that he asked Cedarblade to issue a permit to Hernandez for having rented Cuffie Park on the previous June 29~ and 3 0th. Yonis said that all permits for Hernandez were issued afier the fact. When I asked why he waited so long to issue the permit, Yonis called it an honest mistake and said he was not trained on how and when to deposit money. Yonis said that he gave Cedarblade $ 440 to cover the June 29 and 30th dates and Cedarblade issued him a receipt. He did not give the receipt to Hernandez because he was not trained to issue a receipt to an individual and because he had no computer to print a receipt. Yonis could not recall when he got the $ 440 he gave to Cedarbiade but it would have been within a week after the fields were used. When I asked whether Yonis gave Cedarbiade the information to put into Permit # 12695, Yonis claimed that Hemandez had originally given him a different name and then one day Hernandez gave him his real name. Yonis claimed that Hemandez originally gave him a nickname ofMoy-something. I then asked Yonis if the name on Permit # 12881 ofMoise Moye is the name that Hernandez originally gave him. Yonis said that person is actually Mohammed. Yoni~ said that Hemandez first told him his name was Moye, which Yonis said is a nickname, when they first met at the end of May. In midJuly he found out Hernandezs real name. With respect to the address on Permit # 12695, Yonis said he did not have Hemandezs address but that the address popped up when Cedarbiade put in Hernandezs name and it showed he owed a lot of money at East
That is not true; Yonisonly brought money to Cedarbiade twice. Once on July and once on July 22 for Moise Heniandez.
16th

for Mosse Moye,

Phillips. That was also the first time he knew Hemandez lived in Minneapolis. Yonis said he was very curious about Hernandez because originally he gave a nickname, and then gave no address and now it showed that he owed a lot of money: He had a conversation with Nguyen about it. Yonis says he was always confused about Hernandezs event because it took place on the same days as the one month Ramadan tournament, for which Permit # 12881 was issued. I asked Yonis why, when he brought Cedarblade the $440 for the June 29/30 games he did not also bringher the $1320. He was evasive, saying that he works at so many parks that sometimes he doesnt have the energy to drive backto Luxton; that he was not trained to do it; and that he gave Cedarbiade the money he had on him on July 22nd When I asked Yonis if he had the $ 440 on him, Yonis said that Hernandez probably gave him the money that day. When I reminded him that it was supposedly for games played almost a month previous he said he was confused by my questions. I then confirmed he had the $1320 at Luxton when he went to Cedaa-blade for the permit for June 29/30 and gave her the $ 440. I asked again why he gave Cedar.blade the $ 440 but not the $ 1320 and he said the $ 1320 was locked in a safe place but the $ 440 was right on his table and he thought he should huffy and get her the money. It didnt occur to him to get the other money. I reminded him that Mr. Hemandez generally paid him the same day, or within a week after games were played, and thus he had the $ 440 for about three weeks. He confirmed that, so I asked if that meant that the $ 440 was sitting on his table for three weeks while the $ 1320 was put away. He again said he was confused by my question. I asked again why he would give Cedarblade $440 for an event three weeks prior but not the $ 1320 he had been collecting in the ensuing weeks and he said he didnt really know or remember. Regarding the text message he sent to Larry Umphrey on July l8~ 6saying he got a call from a Latino groi.ip, Yonis said a woman from Hernandezs group called him and he said he would call his supervisor and find out why Umphrey was calling them. He said that the first time he was aware that anyone was asking about the scheduling of the ~urrie fields. Regarding Permit # 12881 for Mosse Moye issued on July 16~ by Cedarbiade, Yonis said he asked her to issue the permit and gave her the information to put in the permit. I asked who Mosse Moye was and he said he knows him by a nicknanie, he is one of the leaders of one of the Mosques and his name is Mohanuned and he wanted to do a soccer tournament for the month of Ramadan. I asked Wit was a coincidence that both Mohammed and Hernandez had the same nickname ofMbye, and he said he didnt know. I asked why he did not put Mohammeds name on the permit and he said he just knows people by their nicknames and that he gets confused with this persons name. He
6j

showed Yonis the pictures of the text while we discussed them. It appeared that his first text was sent on

July 16th because that date was above the start of the text. Thus, when we discuss the date, we both use the date July 16th As I reexamined the texts, I realized that the date of the text is actually at the bottom, and thus, his first text was actually on July 18th, which comports with Larry Umphreys recollection.

agreed he gave Cedarbiade the name Mosse Moye but said again that he was conflised. I asked if he meant to say Mohammed but gave Cedarbiade the nickname Hernandez gave him and lie said yes but then said that it might be an ActiveNet issue where the name just popped up. I asked if he could give me more information about Mohammed and he said he just had the one name and did not have contact information but said he could get it for me. Yonis told me that Mohammeds team played from 6-8 p.m. after Hernandezs teams were done. I asked why the permit said 4-6 p.m. and he said it might be an ActiveNet issue. I asked ifhewa~ saying he did not tell Cedarbiade to put in 4-6 p.m. and he said that he did tell her that, but he meant to say 6-8 p.m. I asked if Yonis gave Cedarblade $ 480 for the permit and he said yes. I asked if he got the receipt and he said yes. I asked if he gave the receipt to Mohammed and he said he had no computer to print a receipt and he didnt get any training about giving receipts. I asked Yonis if he told Cedarblade that Mosse Moye and Moise Hernandez were the same person and he said he may or may not have done so because he was confused. When I asked how he could be confused about them being the same person, when he knew that Permit # 12881 was for Mohammed, Yonis said he didnt remember what he told Cedarblade. Yonis said that the first time he ever took money from Hemandez to rent Currie field was right after June ~ and 30th and that was the $ 440 he gave to Cedarblade on July 22~: Yonis denied that Hernandez first started renting the fields on May 4, 2013 and denied that Hernandez has been ~ayhigYonis to rent the fields every Saturday and Sunday since May 4, 2013. He said he met Hernandez at the end of May and has no idea if hes using [Currie) without my permission. Yonis denied telling Hernandez to tell people who asked that he started renting Currie field on June 29th~ He said he did not receive or gather anycash for Qirrie fields before June29 and 30th Follow up interview with Sarah Cedarblade On August. 5, 2013, I conducted a follow up interview with Sarah Cedarblade. I asked her about several emails that were exchanged between her and Yonis, and her and Cynthia Wilson. With respect to the April 2S, 2013 email from Yonis to her asking her to issue him a permit for several dates between 4/30 and 7/9 she did so because there is no staff at Coyle Park and if Yonis wanted some time to be scheduled, she would issue a permit to him. Her response of April 23, 2013 informed him that she could issue the permit for Currie but that he needed to talk to Tim Grate about Riverside. She then issued the permit and sent it to him via email. Regarding the email dated July 19, 2013 wherein Yonis told her .that he had Currie Park rental money, she has no recollection of the email. Regarding the April 2, 2013 email that she sent to Yonis with a copy of the Olubusayo Phillips permit for Currie, she said she sent it as an FYI. This was about the time Yonis took over. Phillips, who she believes is from the U, had contacted her directly to rent the

10

field. She thinks Phillips came to Mathews Park and she gave him the receipt after he paid her the $161.66. Regarding the May 22, 2013 email from Shawn Hockett about the Currie Park lights, he did not know how to turn them on so she sent him to Yonis. Regarding the July 3, 2013 email, which states in part Did you ever figure out how to deposit the rental money? If not stop by and I can show you, Cedarblade did not recall much about it. She said that when Yonis first took over the rental of Currie, one of the Tuesdays that he was at Mathews for Circle, he said he had money from Currie. Afler she sent the email asking if he figured out ho* to deposit the money, he told her he had talked to Huy. Cedarblade does not know if the money he said he had was the $ 480 he later gave to her from Moye. She is not sure how long after he asked her about how to deposit money she sent the email but it was sometime in May or June. I showed her the May 20, 2013 email from Cynthia Wilson stating that Yonis would take over scheduling of the Currie fields, and Cedarblade said her conversation with Yonis about depositing money probably took place between May ~ and July 3~. Cedarblade then said that their conversation was probably on a Tuesday and then she probably followed up when she didnt hear from him. I asked ifshe could narrow it down, and she said that July 3~ was a Wednesday. I asked if their conversation could have been July 2~ and she said no. because she did not think they had Circle the week of the Fourth of July and also she would not have followed up that quickly. She thought it was either the 25th or the ~ of June but would check to see what days they had Circle. I asked if it seemed strange that Yonis would later come to her to ask her to deposit money, when he had previously asked her how to do it and also told her he talked to Huy about how to deposit money, and she said kind of; but that Huy and Yonis do not get along well. With respect to the May 2O~~ email from Wilson stating that Yonis would take over the Currie field scheduling, Cedarblade said there was no other communication about the fields. She said that there was no communication that Yonis would come to her for permits. She said that she told him she would show him how to do permits, but it was her understanding that Yonis would learn how to do it with her help or that of Huy, not that he would just bring money to her. With respect to the June 4, 2013 email from Mohammed Jama seeking to rent the fields for July 4th she notified Jama to contact Yonis. She is not sure if Jama would have been charged but probably not. She does not recall any follow-up from Jama. Cedarblade did say that Jama called her a couple of weeks ago wanting to know about getting coaches certified. She also sent him to Yonis. She believes this Jama is the same Jama as the one whose email to Umphrey started the investigation (she is not aware of the email but their titles are the same). Cedarblade said she never had any conversation about Hernandez before Yonis brought her the money on July 22~. She confirmed that she learned Hernandez owed money to the Park Board after Yonis left. She told him about it later and Yonis said he was not the same Hernandez that owed money. 11

Cedarbiade confirmed that she gave Yonis the folder that lists the charges for field use. Cedarblade said she was never told (as Yonis said in his statement) that money from Currie rental would come to her to deal with. Why would it? She said that if someone had told her. that, she would have questioned it. Cedarbiade said that if she had been told she had to collect the money from Currie then the permittee should come to her with the money and she would issue them a receipt. Cedarblade emailed me after the interview and stated that Circle had been on June 18 and July 2nd I asked if she thought that meant that she and Yonis discussion about rental money happened on the 1 8~ since she had told me she probably would not have followed up the next day if it had been on July 2~ and she said yes, she believes it was the ~ Interview with Moise Hernandez
.

On August 6, 201ST interviewed Moise Hernandez through an interpreter, Carlos. Also present was Hernandezs wife, Fermina Valdez. Hemandez told me that he has been renting fields from the Park Board since May, 2013. He rents Curie, Stewart Park and East Phillips. Hernandez pays $ 30/hour for Stewart Park and East Phillips Park. He pays in cash. and always gets a receipt. He pays Lou at Stewart and Travis at East Phillips. His teams play at Stewart and Currie every Saturday and Sunday, and East Phillips every Sunday. In the first week in May, 2013 Hernandez and his wife went to the Brian Coyle Center to inquire about renting the Curie field. Kalimba, who is in charge of the office, gave them Hashim Yonis number. They contacted him and lie invited them to meet with him in the office at Brian Coyle. Hernandez was unable to recall exactly what day they met with him, but it was between May l~ and May 4th~ Yonis told him he could rent the field and asked what hours he wanted it. Hernandez told him between 5 and 6 hours on Saturdays and Sundays. Yonis told him it would be $ 40/hour. Hernandez said Yonis tQld him the price was $ 40/hour instead of $30/hour because he was charging what the Somali Community charges. Yonis told them that the people who live in the apartment buildings, own the fields and that they did not want to rent them-that they (the community) said that the playground was built for them. Hernandez said he went back to the parents of the kids he organizes the games for and asked if they were okay with paying $ 40/hour. They agreed even though it was expensive and even though they knew the price was supposed to be $ 30/hour. I asked if Yonis ever told Hernandez that the price was $ 40/hour because Hernandez did not live in the City and he said no, and that Yonis knew his address and knew he lived in Minneapolis. Hernandez added that sometime between May and June, he asked Yonis if they could pay S 35/hour, and Yonis said that maybe they could after two weeks. After the two weeks passed, Yonis told him that the 5 40/hour was a fixed price. I gave Hernandez and Ins wife the schedules I had received from Sgt. Doll and asked them to confirm they represented the games that theft groi.ip played each Saturday and 12

Sunday. They told me that on the schedule for Saturday (Sabado), the games were played at Stewart Park and Currie Park and that the first set of games listed on each Saturday was played at Stewart and the second set at currie. On the schedule for Sunday (Domingo), the games were played at East Phillips Park, Stewart Park and Currie Park and that the first set of gaines listed on each Sunday was played at East Phillips, the second set at Currie and the third set at Stewart.7 They bracketed in red the gaines that were played at Cuffie and confn-med that they have played at ~urrie every Saturday and Sunday since May 4, 2013. Hernandez, his wife, or his daughter paid Yonis for every game since May 4tb The first time they paid Yonis was on May 5th They would pay Yonis on Sundays before they started the first game at 2 p.m. They couldnt go to Yonis office because.the Coyle Center is closed on Sundays, so Yonis would open a little door by the bathrooms near the field and they would go into a room where there is stored equipment and Yonis would shut the door.8 They would pay Yonis cash. Hernandez said he had no problem with exchanging the money with Yonis in this closed door room since he believes Yonis did it to be safe, to keep people from knowing that there was cash exchanging hands. The money exchange was always witnessed by Hernandez, his wife and his daughter but no one else. Hemandez says he never got a receipt from Yonis. He said that in June, he approached Yonis and said that if Yonis would not lower the price, at least he could give Hernandez a receipt. Yonis said not to worry, he was the boss there, no problem amigo. Hemandez said he trusted Yonis because he was the owner and because he wore a Park Board shirt.9 Hernandez said that the only person they ever paid to use Cuffie field was Yonis, and that they never used currie field without paying because it is not permitted (i.e. not allowed). Hernandez confirmed that a Somali group took the field at 6:00 after his teams frnished playing. The Somali group played through last weekend. Hernandez said he originally told Sgt. Doll that they did not start renting the Currie field until June 29th because Yonis told them to say that. He said that about a week before he first spoke with Sgt. Doll over the phone, Yonis called him and asked to meet with him at Curne field. He believes it might have been July ~ They met at Currie Park and sat On July20', it appears that there are three sets of games played with the third set being played at Currie; however, the 2O~ was a Saturday and so only two sets of games were played-the first group played at Stewart with a break between 1 and 4p.m. I drove to Currie and found that there is a building that houses the bathrooms and has oilier doors leading to other rooms. When I was at the park to interview Ibsa Mussa on August 13, maintenance employees were cleaning the wading pool and had the door facing east open. The room contained the equipment for the pool. I walked around the building and found two locked rooms, one labeled In and the other labeled Out that are next to the bathrooms, Mussa confirmed for me that it is in this room that the equipment is kept. Hernandez apologized several times to me and said he was sorry about this misundestanding. I assured him that nothing was his fault, but he said that he feels guilty because Yonis is a cool guy who treated him well and he did not want to get Yonis in trouble. 13

on a park bench. Yonis instructed Hemandez~ to tell Larry Urnphrey that they started using the field on June 29th Hei-nandez asked why and Yonis said that if they said they started in May, they would not be able to rent in September because he couldnt rent the fields for a long period of time. Yonis said that if he told Larry they started on June 29th his group could rent the fields through October. Henandez believed Yonis explanation because he knows there are some parks that do not rent for long periods of time; for example some schools rent fields for certain times so they cant rent them then. Hernandez said that when he learned from the police that Yonis had only made one payment to the Park Board he realized why Yonis told him to lie, but originally he thought Yonis was telling him to lie because hc (Hernandez) had a problem (i.e. that he wouldnt be able to rent the fields long term). He then told the truth to Sgt. Doll that he had been paying Yonis since May to rent the fields. Hernandez said that Yonis also told him to tell Larry that he always paid $ 440 to rent the fields. I asked if that was true arid he said no, sometimes he paid for an hour or tw~ more, but Yonis said to say he paid exactly $ 440 each weekend. I asked if he ever paid Yonis a lump suit of$ 1320 and he said no. Hernandez last had contact with Yonis on July
2V

when he paid him for that weekend.

Using the schedules provided by Hernandez, by my calculation, Hernandez paid Yonis $ 1720 in May, and $1840 through June 23rd~ Yonis provided Cedarblade $ 440 on July 22~ which ostensibly was for June 29-30; and another $1320 was found at Luxton. By my calculation, again using the schedules, Hemandez paid Yonis $ 1600 to rent Currie between July 6-21. That leaves missing $ 3,840. It should be noted that Yonis was also overcharging Hernandez to rent the fields from May 4-July 20~ by ten dollars per hour. By my calculation Hernahdez is owed $ 1600.00. Interview with Huy Nguygen On August 6, 2013, I interviewed Huy Nguyen by telephone. Nguyen is the director at Luxton Park. Nguyen stated that Hashim Yonis has his own office at Luxton but if Yonis wants to use the computer then they share Nguyens office. Nguyen said that in the spring of this year, in the May time period, Cynthia Wilson said that she and Yonis were going to be handling Coyle, so Nguyen showed Yonis how to issue a permit. He said he and Yonis did a practice permit issuance approximately 1 and /2 times by filling out fake permits but not actually posting them. Nguyen said that after that, Yonis had a good idea of what needed to be done. While he wouldnt be proficient until he actually issued a few more permits, Yonis knew the policies and the process for issuing permits. Nguyen said that about a month & /2 ago (end of June), Yonis told him he wanted to do a deposit from Coyle and asked whether he could. Nguyen said Yonis did not ask him how to do a deposit, just how he could use Coyle as a deposit site. He wanted a Coyle GL code. Nguyen told him that he would have to get a GL code from higher ups, but otherwise he had to use Mathews, Luxton or Van Cleeve and log it as ~urrie. I asked if Yonis said he had deposit to make and Nguyen said no, he just wanted to know how to do a deposit through Currie. Nguy~n said Yonis also asked Cedarblade about this. I asked 14

Nguyen if he thought the conversation was around June 18th as Cedarbiade believed, he said yes, end of June. Nguyen added that he did not know Yonis was actually doing permits for Currie. Yonis just started asking questions in the last month, so he must have just started to pennit at Coyle. Nguyen has not seen any paperwork.from Cuffie rentals. Nguyen said that on July 25th or 26th Yonis told Nguyen that Cedarbiade was going to call him to ask how to issue a backdatedpennit for some guy named Hernandez. Nguyen said he asked Yonis why he would backdate a permit, that they were required to get the money and then issue the permit. He said he told Yonis it was harder to issue a backdated permit and that is why they do a permit before an event. Nguyen said it was the first time he was aware of a permit for Hernandez. He said Yonis said it was for 10 hours, $ 40/hour for an out-of-town resident for a total of$ 440. Nguyen called Cedarblade the next day to ask if she had figured out the Hernandez permit. She said she had and had post-dated it, but also said she did not have the right information on the guy, and that he owed $14,000 and that she had called Travis to ask if this guy was the same guy who owed Travis. Nguyen said he told Cedarblade to call Larry before sbe completed the permit and deposited the money because something didnt sound right. He said that Cedarbiade needed to get the right person and hours, because Yonis had told him the man rented for ten hours at the out-of-town rate but this Hernandez lived in town. I asked if Nguyen knew anything about a person named Moye getting a permit and he said no. Follow up interview with Hashim Yonis On August 8, 2013 I interviewed Hashim Yonis to follow up on some issues. Yonis confirmed that he has always been aware that any money that he collected from rental of Cuffie Park belonged to the Park ~oard and had to be turned over to the Park Board. He claimed he was not trained on the protocol of how and when to turn over the money, but he knew that he had to do so and he said he has turned over all of the money he collected from Cuffie to the Park Board.
-

I asked Yonis when Mohammed, who rented the fields for the Ramadan tournament, approached him. He said it was about a week before the tournament started on July 20th Yonis said Mohammed approached him while he was on Currie field and asked to rent the fields for certain days. Yonis looked that the schedule and said he could rent them, and chaaged $ 30/hour. He said Mohammed gave him the money a few days later. I asked why he gave the money to Cedarblade so soon after getting it but did not turn in the $ 440 he got from Hernandez for the Ju.ne 29 & 30th rental until some three weeks later. He said it was because he had the $ 480 in his desk while the other money was in the safe. I asked Yonis about a series of emails that were sent or received between him, Cedarblade and Wilson between April 1, 2013 and August 1, 2013 related to Cunie.
~ We had a spirited discussion about what constitutes a safe. I told Yonis that the $ 1320 was found under some papers in a bag, and he said that the bag is a safe. He insisted that the bag is where the Park Board keeps money for deposit and that therefore, it is what is considered to be a safe by the Park Board.

15

Most of them were innocuous. He confirmed that he asked for a permit from Cedarblade on April 23~ for youthline soccer and said he did so, so it was clear when his group was using the fields. He said he did not recall getting a copy of the permit Cedarblade issued to Mr. Phillips for April 30th~ He said he did not recall getting the email about Shawn Hockett wanting to use the Currie lights. He did recall receiving the email fl-om Cedarbiade forwarding Mohammed Jamas request for use of the Currie fields July 1-6, but said that Jama never followed up with him. With respect to the July 3, 2013 email from Cedarblade to him asking about whether he ever learned to deposit rental money, Yonis said he did not recall getting it and doesnt know why Cedarblade would ask that. He does not remember ever having any conversation with Cedarblade about depositing rental money and he doesnt remember ever getting back to her after July nrd about her question. He also doesnt remember having any conversation with Nguyen about depositing rental money or about depositing money into a Coyle or Currie account. He said it *as possible he asked Cedarblade about depositing money but it would have been just curiosity. I asked about the email from Jennifer Blevins dated May 14th requesting scheduling of the fields for PAL soccer. He said he could not recall if he issued a permit to her or if he asked Cedarblade to issue a permit. I asked if the email from Blevins that he sent May 10 saying he was in charge of the fields, or the email that Wilson sent to Cedarblade May 20th, refreshed his recollection of when he took over scheduling the fields and he said it was mid-May. I asked if there were any other emails that set forth his duties or those of Cedarblade with respect to the scheduling of Currie, permitting of Currie or the depositing of rental money that he was aware of other than the one from May 20 from Wilson to Cedarblade just saying that Yonis would be scheduling Currie and he said there might or might not be. Yonis denied ever being trained by Nguyen to issue permits, but said he did not remember if Nguyen ever showed him how to fill out a permit. He also said he did not remember if Nguyen ever went through the procedures for issuing a permit with him. He thrther said he did not remember if he ever asked Nguyen how to issue a permit after he~ started collecting rent at Currie. Yonis said he did recall talking to Nguyen about the Hernandez pci-mit but cannot remember the substance of the conversation. He does not remember if Nguyen questioned him about backdating permits.
-

Yonis said that when Heniandez would pay him, they would be on the soccer field. No one else was around. I asked Yonis if he was familiar with the building where the bathrooms are, nixt to the fields and he said yes. After some equivocation, Yonis eventually admitted that there is a room in the building where he keeps soccer equipment and that he has access to the key to the room.
.

Yonis said he could not remember if he ever met with Hemandez after texting Larry Umphrey on July 18, and eamiot remember if he had a face to face meeting with 16

Hernandez. He denied ever telling Herandez to tell Urnphrey that he paid $ 440 every week even though it wasnt true. He asked why would I do that? Finally, I advised Yonis that his calendar was not at Mathews or Luxton Park and asked if there was another park it could be at. He said no. He said it is not in his car but he still needs to look at his home. Yonis gave me the telephone number of Mohammed Orono (ph) who he said is the Mohaimned who rented the fields for the Ramadan Tournament. Interview with Cynthia Wilson On August 9, 2013, linterviewed Cynthia Wilson. I asked about her understanding about programming at Currie Park and she said that there is not a whole lot of programming. She said that Currie was set up by Comnissioner Vreeland to be mostly free unless adults were going to be using the pm-k for a block of time or for a tournament. I asked who conveyed that to her and she said it was sketchy; she heard it from Cedarbiade and Heidi Pope. Wilson said that people were complaining that the adults would monopolize the fields when they were intended for the youth. The biggest misunderstanding was that the fields were free. Eventually someone decided that adults would have to get permits and pay for the fields. Jennifer Blevins from Coyle Center would have people come and to schedule the fields through her but she did.not want to have anything to do with the field. So, when Wilson was based at Mathews, she would do the permitting and then she got a Code 8 to gather the information. When Cedarblade moved to Mathews, Cedarblade agreed to take over the rentals at Currie. Then if someone came to Coyle and asked to use the field, Bievins staff could send them to Mathews. However, that still wasnt working because people either were not coming to Mathews to rent the fields or would come there, but not understand the process-especially the Somali Community-and then would use the field without getting a permit. She thinlcs concerns about the process were coming to Commissioner Vreeland. In the meantime they were talking to Coyle about programming. Coyle wanted money but that was not an optiOn so. they were going to assign part time staff to assist with programs. Yonis was working on the programming and Wilson thought that maybe the field rental system would work better if Yonis would go over to help with the cornnunication. Wilson felt it would be a good opportunity for Yonis to interact with people to tell them how the field rental worked. Yonis was to take the information from the interested party, take the money for the rental, and take it to Cedarblade to be deposited through ActiveNet. This was only to be for adults who wanted to use the field. He was to give the money to Cedarblade because there is no computer system at Coyle. Yonis was not supposed to be doing the money piece, just the rental scheduling. Because it was a light duty (i.e. not much work because there are few rentals at Currie) she felt he could do it as professional development. I asked Wilson what directives she gave Yonis about his role, and she said she told him to get the money and get it to Cedarblade so she could get it deposited and receipted in ActiveNet. Wilson did not specifically set a time line for Yonis to get the money to Cedarblade. Since there were not very many permits, her directive was just to ge~ the 17

money to Cedarbiade but she gave no specific time by which it heeded to be done. However, it was her understanding that Yonis was getting the money to Cedarbiade in a timely manner. Wilson said that when she had staff meetings, she made sure to reinforce with staff at some of the meetings to get money deposited and receipts issued in a timely maimer. She added that she is aware that staff does not deposit money immediately and some have money in their safes for over a week. I asked if she knew where Yonis kept any money that he would have received from rentals and she said she does not but hes a pretty responsible person so she assumed he kept it in a safe place until he gave it to Cedarblade. I asked why the permits were issued from Mathews rather than Luxton Park where Yonis had an office. Wilson said that Mathews is the closest park to Currie and Currie is considered a satellite park of Mathews, as is Riverside. Mathews supervises both parks. She said it has always been that way.

Wilson said she never did any official training of Yonis on permitting, or even any of her staff She assumed they already knew how to do permits, except Yonis because he is Youthline. She said she did not train Yonis on how to do permits because Cedarbiade was the main contact for the permits. Wilson said she did coMmunicate to Cedarblade that Yonis would get the information for the permits but that Cedarblade would still input the information into ActiveNet because he didnt know how to. The purpose of having Yonis take over the rental of Curie was to clean up the communication and work on the relationship with Currie/Coyle. It was a mess they were trying to fix and she saw it as a way to build a bridge. Instead of having the Community have to go to Mathews which they resisted, Yonis would get the information and take it to Mathews. They were now more willing to do the permits. Wilson thought she put Yonis in charge of the rentals as the end of May.
-

I went through some emails with Wilson: 4/23/13 email from Yonis to Cedarblade requesting a permit. Cedarblade was still doing the scheduling and permits. 5/20/13 email to Cedarblade advising Yonis now in charge of scheduling. That is around the time she assigned Yonis to get the information for permits. Coyle had no MPRB computer so it had to be generated somewhere else. The staff to which she refers in the email are the part time staff helping at Coyle. She said afier she sent Cedarblade the email she did follow up and told Cedarbiade that she was still going to be processing the receipts in ActiveNet. Wilson said Cedarblade never expressed to her that she did not want to deal with Currie. There were so few permits at Currie. 5/20/13 email regarding meetings with Blevins. This was before the rental piece came in-at that time they were working withBlevins on pro~amming. It was as a result of those discussions that Wilson told Yonis that as long as he was already 18

going to be there, itwould be easier for Cedarbiade to get the information for permits if Yonis served as a bridge to make the rental process go more smoothly. Blevins did not want to deal with the rentals but the Community saw ~urrie & Coyle as the same thing and got upset with her, so now Coyle staff could refer them to Yonjs who would then work with Cedarblade. 5/10/13 email from Yonis to Blevins saying that he would be running the field schedule-Wilson said that by then she had told Yonis to haveBlevins staff come to him about scheduling the fields. Wilson said Carrie is a park that seems to be run by a Commissioner and he made deals, and then when issues came up, they had to try to find a resolution within the confines of the deals he made.
-

Wilson said she did get notification that Cedarbiade was doing Currie deposits. She thinks she was notified of two but cannot remember when. I asked where the money would be deposited and she said she though Currie had an account. Otherwise, it could be coded to Mathews and then used by Yonis foj~ Youthline. If that was the case, Cedarblade would have to track it. Wilson said she did not have Yonis trained in issuing permits because it was not part of his job. I asked how Yonis would know if the field was available. She said that he had his own calendar. She gave the one that the Code 8 (Andrew something) had used when he worked for her, but Yonis said he would do his own. Wilson said she expected Yanis to do deposits in a timely manner. She said the policy says weekly, but she does not know if he would be familiar with it. She alsd said that her staff meetings were on Thursdays, normally his day off, andhe was not required to go, so she is not certain if he ever attended a meeting where she reminded staff to do deposits in a timely manner. However, Wilson said she expected Yonis to use his best judgment. Interview with Mohamed Jima On Au~ist 12, 2013, I interviewed Mohamed Jama. Jama stated that he was approached by the West Banlc Somali youth soccer teath before Memorial Day and was told that they could not have their game on Memorial Day because the field was permitted. Yonis had given the field to outsiders and charged them for it. Jama went to talk to Yonis before Memorial Day, and Yonis said that he could not do anything about it because he had given them.a permit. Jama said they thought it was a one-time deal and so did not do anything about it. However, every weekend after Memorial Day, the Latinos were using the field every Saturday and Sunday. People started to talk. For instance, a kid named Ibsa who worked at Coyle said that Yonis was paying him $ 250 in cash to watch the field while Yonis was out and about. Yonis was telling people that they could use the field if they paid him cash. Jama was suspicious so he asked Yonis what was going on. 19

Yonis said that the Latinos were paying him $ 450, or $ 425 or something like that to use the fields every weekend. Jama said that Yonis reason for taking the money was BS he claimed he was using the money to pay Park Board staffs time to oversee the field.. Jarna also said that Yonis tried to get Jama to keep this hush hush. Jama then delivered a petition to Commissioner Vreeland asking that Yonis be removed as the field coordinator. He ernailed Commissioners Vreeland and Erwin to tell them there was an issue with Yonis. He said he felt that the Commissioners thought it was a joke. He said the response he got was that they were looking into it. Jama said that there is no question in his mind that the Latinos had been paying to use the field every weekend since Memorial Day. When I told Jama that Yonis claimed they started renting the field on June 29th, Jama said thats bullshit. He reiterated that there is no doubt ,, that the Latinos were paying to use the fields before June 29 U,
. .

When I asked Jarna about his request to use Currie field on July l~ (he sent an email to Cedarbiade on June 4, 2013, who forwarded it to Yonis), Jama said that Yonis told him the field was already taken, ~o Jama had io cancel his event which was for Somali National Day. He said it was not true that he never followed up with Yonis. Jama said that Yonis has been telling people that everyone is out to get him, and that they are using tribe against him. Jama said that that is not true. He also told me that Yonis has been in Currie Park in the last couple weeks and that he has been saying that he is on vacation. Letter & Petition to remove Yonis Jama forwarded to me the email correspondence he sent to Commissioner Vreeland, copying Commissioner Erwin and Superintendent Miller together with the two attachments. The email is datedJune 27, 2013. Attached are a letter dated June 22, 2013 and a petition signed by numerous persons from the Somali Community. The petition states that the signatories are disappointed with the way Cunie Park is run and are unbappy with the disrespectful and abusive treatment toward youth by Yonis. It asks that he be removed from ~urrie Park and Brian Coyle Center. The letter reads, in pertinent part: Access to the soccer field is beinggiven to people from other neighborhoods, while youth from Cedar-Riverside do not have access on their planned practice days. Yonis plays favoritism by giving priority and better opportunities to use the soccer field to people he knows personally, or has made prior arrangements with. Furthermore they are not residents of Cedar-Riverside.

20

Youth from Cedar-Riverside do not have access to the field during Saturdays and Sundays. Youth are unable to participate in soccer while the field is handed over to people from other neighborhoods.

Interview with Ibsa Mussa On August 13, 2013, I interviewed Ibsa Mussa. Mussa has worked part time for the Park Board for about a month. He has worked at.the Brian Coyle Cenier for four years, and before that, for two years as a volunteer. Mussa works at the front desk. Mussa said that a long time ago,a Mexican man caine into the Center While Mussa was working the front desk. The man did not speak very good English. He pointed towards the Community Center and said he wanted to rent it. Mussa thought he probably meant that he wanted to rent the field and walked outside with him to make sure that was what he wanted. The man had $ 420 with him, but it only cost $400 to rent the field so he returned $ 20 to the man. Mussa called Hashim, who he described as one of the. supervisors to give him the money because Mussa does not collct money. He said Hashim told him to give the money to Bosteyo, a woman from the Community, but the woman did not show up so he gave the money to Hashim. I asked Mussa when this happened and he said Hashim has the calendar but it was at the beginning of June. Mussa denied ever receiving any money from Hashim. He said that the only time he ever saw the Mexican give money was that first time. But Mussa said he did ask Hashim once where the money was going. Hashim did not answer him, and since Hashim is a supervisor, Mussa did not ask him any ifirther. He just assumed Hashim would give it to Sarah or Larry. I asked how long after the Mexican first started renting the field he asked Hashim where the money went and he said a few weeks. Mussa said that everyone started asking why the Mexicans are using the fields, since the Park Board built the fields for the Somali youth. Mussa told me that he knows that the Mexicans are paying for th& fields because he asked the Mexican last week. He says he likes the Mexican1 because he actually organizes the games. Otherwise, it would just be a free for all on the fields. The Mexican lets anyone play with them. Mussa says he plays with thent They pay to play in the Mexicans program. Mussa told me that the room in the building next to the bathrooms, with two doors labeled in and out is where they store their equipment.

Mussa said that the Mexican calls him Kalimba because of his hair. That comports with HernandeEs claim that Kalimba sent him to Yonis.

21

Mussa confirmed that the Mexicans started playing around the beginning of June. He said people were complaining that they were using the fields, but Mussa told them they were paying for the field and so they got to use it. Mussa also told me that in 2012, he tried to schedule the field for his team but Sarah told him he couldnt and so he found somewhere else to play. He never asked Hashim if he could play, but he would like to organize a program like the Mexican has. I told him to talk to Larry Umphrey. Interview with Ahmed Ismail On August 15, 2013,1 interviewed Alimed Ismail by telephone. Ismail is a youth soccer coach. He has been coaching at Currie for the past twO years, and before that he coached at East Phillips, working with Al Bangora. Last winter, he coached Youthline soccer indoors at Luxton. In February or March, Hashim gave them the outdoor Youthline schedule for Oirrie park. The girls played Monday, Wednesday and Friday, and the boys played Tuesday and Friday. The boys were supposed to play Saturdays but they couldnt because a Mexican league was playing. Hashiin told him that the Mexicans were renting the fields. Ismail first learned about the rental when Ali Sallah (ph) called him and said that the Mexicans had rental money and asked if he should he take it. Ismail told him not to, and called Hashim, who told him to tell Ali to give it to Ibs.a. Ibsa was then to give the money to Hashim. I asked Ismail when this conversation took place and he said it was the end of April or beginning of May, 2013. I asked if he ever heard anything else about the money, and he said no. He also said he does not know where the money that Ibsa took went. I told him that Hemandez told me that they started playing May ~ and asked if th?t sounded right. At first Ismail said it was either at the end of April or the beginning of May, but then recalled that his group was supposed to have a game on April 30th but the weather was bad, so he is sure the Mexicans started playing the first weekend in May. Ismail said that the Mexicans have been playing at Currie field every since then. He said he has even helped Moises a couple of times. Ismail said he was one of the organizers of the Ramadan games, and they paid $ 480 to rent Currie field for four weeks, Fridays and Satul-days. He said Hashim told them they had to pay to rent the field and that the money would go to the park. Ismail personally gave Hashim the $ 480, and it was in cash. He thinlcs he paid Hashirn around July 15th~ Hashim told him he would give Ismail a receipt but never did. However, Hashim did show Ismail, on his phone, the paperwork showing that he had re~erved the park for their Ramadan games. I told Ismail that Hashim has stated that Moises team started playing on June 29~ and asked if that was true. He said it was not correct. He said that what Hernandez told me-that they started on May 4th_is right, most definitely. Ismail said that it is 100% correct that they started playing at the beginning of May, and that he is 100% certain that they have been playing for three months, not one and half months. 22

I-

Ismail said that everyone was cothplaining about the Mexican league using the fields because they were not part of the community but Hashim would tell everyone that they had a right to play because they rented the field. Ismail also told me that there is a lot of corruption at Coyle and Dirrie, and that last winter, Ibsa asked him to pay to play inside at Coyle, but that he later learned this past spring that the Park Board has Coyle Friday and S?turday and so use should have been free, so he thinks Ibsa intended tO keep the money. Ismail did not end up paying to use Coyle and he said he was not asked to pay to use Luxton last winter: Because of his concerns about corruption, he now calls Larry Umphrey directly to schedule indoor games. Findj~g Hashirn Yonis has been accused of collecting money from Moise Hernandez to rent Currie Fields, overcharging him by 10$ per hour, and not turning the rental money collected prior to June 30, 2013 over to the Park Board. He is fhrther accused of not depositing money received afier June 30, 2013 in a timely manner, not keeping money in a safe place, and not turning over all of the money he collected.. Finally, he is accused to asking a citizen to lie about the field rental. I find Moise Hernandez to be very credible. First, he has no reason to lie about renting the fields from Yonis since May 4, 2013 and has been consistent in his story to both me and Sgt. Doll. He is very apologetic and clear that he does not want to get Yonis in trouble. Moreover, his statement is consistent with and supported by the original complaint from Mohamed Jama, the statement Jama gave to me, the letter Jania sent to Commissioner Vreeland asking that Yonis be removed from Currie Park, the statement of Ibsa Mussa ai~d the statement of Abmed Ismail. While Jatha and Mussa were not certain exactly when Hernandezs group started playing, they agree that it was well before June 29~, and Ismail confirmed it was the first weekend in May. By contrast, I did not find Yonis to be credible. He was evasive during the interviews and the information that he provided to Cedarblade about the Hernandez permit was concerning enough to her to cause her to hold the $ 440 until she could talk to her supervisor. Ajid, Yoniss explanation of why he held the $ 440 for several weeks, and why he held the $ l320.00.rather than bringing it to Cedarblade with the $ 440 raises, questions about his credibility and his judgment. Finally, and most importantly, Yoniss claim that Hernandez started renting the field on June 29th was contradicted by four separate people. I find that Hernandezs statement that he had been paying Yonis since May 5, 2013 40$ per hour to rent Currie Field to be cr~edible. I also find Hernandezs statement that Yonis knew he lived in Minneapolis but charged him $ 40 anyway to be credible. And, I fmd credible Hei-nandezs statement that when Yonis learned that there were going to be questions about his rental of Currie Field, Yonis told Hernandez to lie about when the 23

rentals started and told him to tell Umphrey that the rentals were always $ 440. 1 believe that Yonis told Hernandez to tell Umphrey that so that Yonis could then deposit $ 440 to cover the first rental through Cedarblade and ensure that there were three more weeks of $440/rentals to be found at Luxton. Moreover, even if the $1320 found at Luxton actually came from Hemandez, it was not stored in a secure manner, and both it and the $440 were kept for more than three weeks. I find that Yonis conduct constitutes a violation of the following Civil Service Rules: CSC Rule 1 l.03(B)(8) Misappropriation of City property, funds or money CSC Rule 1 1.03 (B)(lO) Discourtesy to public or fellow employees CSC Rule 1 1.03 (B)(13) Criminal or dishonest conduct unbecoming to a public employee, whether such conduct was conn-nitted while on duty or off duty CSC Ruk 1 l.03(B)(l5) Soliciting or receiving funds for political purposes or personal gain during work CSC Rule I 1.03 (B)(18) Violation df department rules, policies, probedures or City ordinance CSC Rule 1 l.03(B)(l9) Knowingly making a false material statement to the Citys representative during an investigation into effiployment related misconduct. Ann E. Walther August 19, 2013

24

TENNESSEN WARNING You are being asked to provide infonnation as part of investigation being conducted by the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board. You will be asked to provide infonnation that may be classified as private or confidential data under the Minnesota Government Data Practices Act. This infonnation is being requested as part of an employment investigation and may be used for determining whether discipline will be imposed upon employee(s) of the Park Board. The information you provide may be released to: Persons authorized to have access to the information under state or federal law Persons authorized by court order to have access to the infonnation Persons to whom you have given written consent to have access to the information All individuais e~mployed by the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board who have a need and a right to know the information You are ordered to supply the requested information as a condition of your employment with the Park Board and your refusal to supply the requested information could result in discipline or other adverse action being taken against you, up to and including discharge. Any information which you do provide must be true and accurate. Dated:

~j 2n11-V?3

~\+%Vt~M
(Name)

~~21S

Witness

8/20/2009