> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.richmonder.org/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Former DPU worker stole $17K of copper and aluminum wire, inspector general found - URL: https://www.richmonder.org/former-dpu-worker-stole-17k-of-copper-and-aluminum-wire-inspector-general-found/ - Published: 2026-09-30T17:10:28.000Z - Updated: 2026-09-30T17:10:28.000Z - Description: Gas card investigation also leads to charges against former Parks and Rec worker. - Author: Sarah Vogelsong - Tags: City Government, #the-bridge Almost 19 months after a former Richmond city employee was indicted for grand larceny and misusing public assets, more details of what happened have emerged. According to a [report from Richmond’s Office of the Inspector General](https://rva.gov/sites/default/files/2026-09/Abuse%20of%20Authority%20and%20Waste%20of%20Government%20Resources%20DPU%2010.24.24.pdf), John LaBossiere, a power line specialist supervisor with the Department of Public Utilities, stole more than $17,000 worth of copper and aluminum wire from the city over a roughly six-month period in 2024. LaBossiere pled guilty last year to misuse of public funds and agreed to pay restitution to the city. [Former Richmond city employee charged with misusing public assetsJohn LaBossiere was charged with grand larceny and misusing public assets worth more than $1,000, but officials aren’t providing any details about what happened.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/99/06/99067822-fdfd-42b1-ab19-555c33eefb89/content/images/icon/apple-touch-icon-1-a695040a-f1b0-4b13-96fc-f93696a319e6.png)The RichmonderSarah Vogelsong![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/99/06/99067822-fdfd-42b1-ab19-555c33eefb89/content/images/thumbnail/City_Hall_MP-7f9d0041-aca1-45fa-86b9-2a326830c33b.jpg)](https://www.richmonder.org/former-richmond-city-employee-charged-with-misusing-public-assets/) The OIG investigation found that LaBossiere had been taking wire from the department and selling it for scrap at two recycling facilities in Richmond and Fredericksburg. “Although LaBossiere received a total of $5,231.41 for the wire sold to the two recycling facilities, the actual value of materials taken by … LaBossiere is $17,689.33,” the report from Inspector General Foster Curtiss found. The inspector general’s valuation of the wire was based on the “lowest-dollar \[city of Richmond\] purchase price per foot” of the materials that were sold. In addition to the criminal prosecution of LaBossiere, the inspector general investigation led to changes in how the utilities department secures “high-value materials,” the report said. Previously, copper and aluminum wire “were easily accessible, and vehicle keys were also accessible without sufficient oversight,” according to the OIG investigation. Following the case, DPU now secures those materials behind a locked gate, “with additional security methods in place to restrict and monitor access. “Supervision has increased oversight of both materials and vehicle keys to ensure proper control and accountability,” the report concluded. ### **Gas card abuse** [A separate report](https://rva.gov/sites/default/files/2026-09/Unauthorized%20Purchases%20PRD%207.10.24.pdf) from the Office of the Inspector General found that a former temporary Parks and Recreation employee defrauded the city of at least $3,000 through unauthorized use of a city gas card to fuel personal vehicles. Richmond, like many other governments, issues purchasing cards to employees who drive municipal vehicles to pay for gas at pumps run by the city’s fuel vendor, Quarles. An internal audit of Richmond’s program in summer 2025, however, found lax oversight of the cards and [identified at least $44,000 in “questionable transactions](https://www.richmonder.org/audit-of-city-fuel-cards-finds-at-least-44k-in-questionable-spending/).” [Audit of city fuel cards finds at least $44K in ‘questionable’ spendingAn internal audit of the city of Richmond’s fuel purchasing cards found lax oversight of how employees were using them.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/99/06/99067822-fdfd-42b1-ab19-555c33eefb89/content/images/icon/apple-touch-icon-1-a9fb5e82-c777-4f29-856a-89b2b4e7c78e.png)The RichmonderGraham Moomaw![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/99/06/99067822-fdfd-42b1-ab19-555c33eefb89/content/images/thumbnail/DSCF7774-6c8106d7-0178-4a72-a145-2dbfb3f70cfa.jpg)](https://www.richmonder.org/audit-of-city-fuel-cards-finds-at-least-44k-in-questionable-spending/) Among those were what the OIG called “excessive fuel charges” on one card held by George Hicks-Ward, a temporary worker with Richmond’s Parks and Recreation Department who was later fired. An investigation turned up 23 video images showing Hicks-Ward fueling his personal vehicle using a city gas card for a vehicle he had previously been assigned, as well as the personal identification number for his former supervisor. Hicks-Ward later pled guilty to credit card fraud, credit card theft and identity fraud and has been ordered to pay almost $3,000 to the city in restitution for fraudulent transactions that occurred between May 1 and June 5, 2024. The OIG report said Parks and Recreation also identified 239 unauthorized gas card transactions worth more than $15,700 in fiscal years 2023 and 2024 that occurred after work hours or on weekends. However, the inspector general’s office continued, no video or security images are available for those transactions because Quarles does not retain its footage that long. “Increased oversight of fuel card distribution, PIN issuance, and usage are recommended to ensure compliance and accountability,” Curtiss wrote in his report. Parks and Recreation, he continued, “has already begun implementing corrective actions to improve controls in this area.” *Contact Reporter Sarah Vogelsong at* [*svogelsong@richmonder.org*](mailto:svogelsong@richmonder.org)