DOT: Employee stole thousands in gas

ALBUQUERQUE (KRQE) - An Albuquerque man who worked for the Department of Transportation for more than a decade pleaded not guilty earlier this week to stealing thousands of dollars in gasoline from the state.

Daniel Glass was a shop foreman at the New Mexico DOT and worked for the agency for 12 years. Part of his job was to assign personal identification numbers to employees that activated fuel cards for state vehicles.

He is accused of using those numbers to fill up five private vehicles over two years to the tune of about $6,600, according to the DOT spokesperson.

"People sometimes get greedy, and they take advantage of the system," said Lt. Robert McDonald, New Mexico State Police spokesman.

On Monday, Glass pleaded not guilty in Sandoval County Magistrate Court to five counts of larceny.

Outside court, KRQE News 13 asked him if he had anything to say to taxpayers about why he allegedly stole the gas. He said he had no comment.

DOT investigators said that when they started looking into the fuel accounts, the numbers didn't add up. And when DOT realized the allegations could be criminal, they handed their case over to State Police.

Both DOT and State Police reported finding a lot of evidence. For example they said Glass filled up three different times in one day, used two different cards just one minute apart on another day and filled up so often at a gas station in Rio Rancho, an employee started to recognize him.

Security video confirmed investigators' suspicions.

"The footage was very clear, and it showed him filling up the personal vehicles," NMDOT spokesperson Melissa Dosher said.

DOT allows employees to fill up at private stations only if they can't get to one of the 100 fuel stations on DOT property throughout the state. Most of the Glass' fill-ups in question were at private stations.

"They get away with it once, so it's just they want to do it again and again and it ends up--somebody's going to catch it," McDonald said.

Glass resigned from his $40,000 a year job with DOT last April. Because the state didn't fire him, he was allowed to collect $4,692.48 for unused holiday and vacation time.

As part of the criminal case, the state hopes to recoup the $6,600 Glass is accused of stealing in fuel costs. It may also file a civil case against him.