Following a month-long investigation by Bloomfield Police Chief Steve Cambron, Public Works Superintendent Scott Thompson resigned from his role Tuesday morning. Cambron said he is currently investigating Thompson under accusations of theft and abuse of his position.
“The investigation revealed that our Public Works Director had been taking money and abusing his office over a period of years,” Cambron said. “This ranges from suspected time card abuse and fraud where he has stated or implied that he was working for the city when he was not.”
Cambron also explained that in his investigation he found that Thompson had used city materials and city employees to do maintenance and landscaping on the local firehouse, of which Thompson is a volunteer and Assistant Fire Chief. During those instances, Cambron said the city employees were on the clock and the city materials were not replaced.
In the investigation, the police chief said he also discovered that Thompson had used city vehicles and city credit cards for his personal use. Cambron added that Thompson had allegedly used his position to make arrangements for some individuals to pay their water bills, while others had services terminated.
Bloomfield Mayor Chris Dudgeon said Monday night the city council was informed of the investigation on Thompson during an executive session. Cambron said the council was on board with moving forward with the investigation. At this time, Cambron said he is still investigating the allegations against Thompson with the case being labeled ongoing
“He asked me what was the best thing for him to do,” Cambron said. “I told him the best thing for you to do is to make a public apology to the people he has wronged.”
Dudgeon said he was made aware of the investigation on March 17, and put Thompson on indefinite suspension without pay following the news.
“We have worked with every individual involved in this and been very transparent with the police department, our city council and everybody involved and handled this issue as quickly as possible, so that the City of Bloomfield can move forward in a positive light and put this behind us,” Dudgeon said.
The mayor reiterated Cambron’s statement regarding the investigation still being ongoing. He added that once new information was given to him about the investigation he would be happy to share it to the city council and the public.
“We’re still looking into it,” he said. “I can’t say anything’s gonna come of this; I’m not sure. It’s out of our hands. It’s more of police are still investigating as far as I am aware.”
Thompson did make the following statement to the public following his resignation: “I would like to issue a public apology for the accusations and everything else that has been brought up. I am not a bad person. I do not want to be seen as one. I’ve made bad decisions and used poor judgement on several occasions. I am not a thief. I understand the discussions myself, Steve (Cambron) and the mayor (Dudgeon) have had and as a public servant I have served this area faithfully and their interests come before mine. I don’t want to lose any of that trust and faith. With everything going on with the City of Bloomfield and the water company, I formally apologize to everyone. In light of all the goings-on I have formally turned in my resignation effective 3/21/23, effective immediately. I just hope that everybody can forgive me and we can move forward.”
