Tucson employees to pay little for graft

After stealing over $80,000 of Tucson taxpayers’ money former Transportation Department supervisors; Kurt Hough and Robert Palomarez will only have to pay $6000 each in restitution. The men were indicted on 11 charges including conspiracy, illegal control of an enterprise, and theft in 2011.

$5000 in restitution must be paid to the City of Tucson and $1,000 must be paid to the Arizona Attorney General’s Anti-Racketeering Revolving Account.

Hough enjoyed paid leave for 11 months and was paid $33.95 an hour. He collected over $65,000 in wages during that period.
Ultimately five City of Tucson Transportation Department employees lost their jobs.

Hough and Palomarez ran the gamut of graft. From having a installing a concrete motorcycle pad on City property because his “motorcycle buddies” didn’t like parking on asphalt, to helping a friend, Ken Kelly, owner of Kelly Electric, build a BMX track at another friend’s home in Vail.