Airport employee accused of embezzlement

By Kelly Yamanouchi

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

An employee in Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport’s accounting department embezzled at least $235,000 of city revenue over about six years, according to an investigative report by Atlanta’s department of law.

The employee, VanDyke Walker, was an accounts receivable specialist for the airport since 2003 and responsible for receiving $40 to $50 payments for badges, fingerprinting and vehicle permits collected by the security division from employees who need access to the airport. Walker was throwing away his copy of a reconciliation report and rewriting it in order to facilitate the scheme, according to the investigative report.

The findings came after an internal audit started in March 2009 found “numerous irregularities.” Airport deputy general manager Mario Diaz, audit manager Willie Self and controller Carver Joseph held an interview session in June on the embezzlement of revenue, then estimated at about $30,000.

After Walker was interviewed, he was put on paid administrative leave, according to the report. Airport spokesman John Kennedy said Walker has since been terminated.

Information on the case was turned over to the Atlanta Police Department to conduct a criminal investigation separate from the ongoing administrative investigation. Walker was arrested by Clayton County authorities on a charge of “theft by taking.”

Walker’s attorney, George Lawson, said Walker made bond and was released. “The facts of this case are distorted,” Lawson said.

According to the report, Mavis Jones, a revenue accounting and controls manager who started March 2009, said she noticed “numerous irregularities” in the department, personnel problems in accounts receivable and inadequate policies and procedures.

The report found that supervisors responsible for overseeing Walker “failed to appropriately monitor and supervise his activities.”

The report said the department of aviation should determine appropriate disciplinary action for Walker and other employees.

It also said the department of aviation should develop written policies on handling of revenue, and should counsel security and accounts receivable employees on their fiduciary and ethical responsibilities.

Kennedy said the airport has “identified some areas in which we could improve processes and procedures to redress the issue, which we have since done.”