When the garbage man carried away somebody's valuable papers, a half-dozen bureaucrats rushed to respond. The result? Another big stack of paper.

Edited by MIKE WILSON

© St. Petersburg Times, published April 19, 2000

To: Pinellas County Administrator Fred Marquis
From: Mary Ellen Spring, assistant to Tarpon Springs City Manager Ellen S. Posivach
Date: Feb. 24, 2000
Subject: Sarah Schriebman

Larry Schriebman's family has lived in Tarpon Springs for a long time, and Mr. Schriebman's father, Allan, passed away recently. Mr. Schriebman, who, incidentally, is a school principal in New York, was in Tarpon Springs recently helping his mother, Sarah, following his father's death, and then was preparing to return to New York.

He was packing his car in his driveway and left a clear plastic bag filled with important papers near the rear trunk of his car while he went into the house to get more items. When he returned to the driveway, his bag was missing.

[Times art: Don Morris]

To get to the point, Mr. S discovered the trash collector (Waste Management) had taken his bag, and through a long series of phone calls and a visit to the dump he was able to retrieve his precious papers. The problem Mr. Schriebman would like to report is that not only were the people at the County dump surly and unhelpful, but they insisted he pay them $100 cash before he could look in the trash for his bag. Not having any choice at the time, he paid them the $100, and, as I mentioned, after a long search, he found his bag.

He requests that the City assist, and if possible, see about having the $100 refunded by the County. He would like this to be paid to his mother. He would like to emphasize that there was no way that his bag could have been mistaken for trash by the Waste Management employee; it was way up the driveway near his car, and nowhere near the trash cans on the right of way.

He believes this may have been a moneymaking con by someone, and isn't even sure that the $100 charge for looking through the garbage was a legitimate fee. The men at the dump would not accept a check nor any other form of payment except cash. Can the County help him get the money back?

cc: Mayor Frank DiDonato

To: Warren Smith, Director of Solid Waste Operations, Pinellas County
From: Attilio Corbo, Operations Supervisor
Date: March 21, 2000
Subject: Response to letter dated Feb. 24, 2000

The incident referred to in Mary Ellen Spring's letter was more involved than stated in the letter.

Mr. Schriebman drove to the Bridgeway Acres Landfill (BWA) with a friend. They stopped at the scale house to inform the attendant that a Waste Management truck was on route, that his valuables were in the truck and that he wanted the load dumped out so that they could search for the valuables. The attendant informed him that the request would be honored and that he (Mr. Schriebman) would have to pay $100 for this.

The attendant also informed him that this was the policy of the County and that all people are charged this for cleanup afterwards. Mr. Schriebman then told the attendant that he was a school principal in New York and because he was also a government employee that this charge should be waived. The attendant said that this could not be done. The scale house supervisor referred Mr. Schriebman to me.

I met Mr. Schriebman at the front reception area, shook his hand and listened to his story. I told him I was sorry for his loss. I then told him that it is a policy of the County to charge $100 and that the $100 does not go to the County but is paid directly to the landfill contractor to clean up the material once the customer has gone through it.

Mr. Schriebman told me that he was a school principal in New York and because of that he should get a free pass on this charge. I told him that I understood how he felt about paying $100 but the only person(s) with the authority to do this is the County Administrator and/or Board of County Commission, as they set fees.

At this point his friend said, to this effect, "Larry, just pay them, the truck is on the way here and we don't want to miss it." His friend asked me if I could find out about when the truck was due in. I went to my office and called Waste Management Inc. and talked to Mike Laverty, the District Manager. After he contacted his dispatcher, he informed me of the approximate time the truck would arrive at the landfill. I went out to the reception area and informed Mr. Schriebman of the arrival time, shook hands with him and his friend, and they left.

I am not aware of any County employees acting surly and unhelpful. Mr. Schriebman was treated with respect and his questions answered honestly and he received assistance.

March 21, 2000
To: Mr. Larry Schriebman
c/o Mrs. Sarah Schriebman
From: Frank DiDonato, Mayor of Tarpon Springs
Dear Mr. Schriebman:

I am in receipt of (Mary Ellen Spring's letter) concerning your troubles with Waste Management and the City's Yard Waste Facility with regard to important papers that were removed from your mother's driveway.

Also, I have been advised that we gave your mother the name and telephone number of Pinellas County Administrator Fred Marquis to secure his approval in returning the $100 you had to pay at the Yard Waste Facility to get your papers returned. However, I am sending a copy of this letter to the District Manager of Waste Management, Mike Laverty, for his information and action with regard to the behavior of the driver of the garbage truck.

On behalf of my fellow Commissioners, I apologize for the troubles you had while in Tarpon Springs and hope you will give us another chance to be more cordial.

Sincerely Yours,
Mayor Frank DiDonato
City of Tarpon Springs
cc: Mike Laverty

March 24, 2000
To: Mayor Frank DiDonato
City of Tarpon Springs
From: Michael J. Laverty
District Manager, Waste Management Inc.

Dear Mayor DiDonato,

I am in receipt of your letter dated March 21. After review and investigation of the circumstances that led to the loss of the bag of papers at the Schriebman residence, I believe that our driver, Calvin Andrews, collected the bag believing it to be garbage.

According to our investigation, the bag was close to the remaining items at the curb. Many times in the course of our daily collection activity, my employees are faced with similar circumstances where our customers carry items out and (do not always leave them) in the same location. Calvin Andrews has been a valued employee with us for five years and has consistently received recognition for superior service from our customers; as a result, I can assure you that it truly was a mistake and more apt to be a "helping hand" gesture to collect all that he believed to be garbage for our collection.

I regret that Mr. Schriebman perceives the event as a possible moneymaking con; I can assure you that there was no impropriety involved. Again, we are sorry that the incident occurred and for the inconvenience posed.

Sincerely,
Michael J. Laverty

April 5, 2000
To: Ms. Ellen Posivach
City Manager, City of Tarpon Springs|
From: Pick Talley
Director, Pinellas County Utilities
Subject: (Mary Ellen Spring's) Memo on the Schriebman Refuse Collection Complaint

Dear Ms. Posivach:

I have attached reports from Waste Management and our Solid Waste Operations Department on this incident. While the incident is unfortunate, I believe it was handled properly. We all sympathize with the emotional stress placed on Mr. Schriebman from the loss of his belongings and the unexpected $100 expense. We don't have many such complaints.

Very truly yours,
Pick Talley

Reporter's notebook

Date: April 13, 2000
Subject: Notes from telephone interview with Mrs. Sarah Schriebman

"The gentleman from sanitation called and said he can't do anything for us. I don't understand it. Living here 21 years, I've never had this problem before.

"So what's the ending? The ending is, we're out $100."

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