ODOT managers retire following internal investigation

SALEM, Ore. (AP) — Two Oregon Department of Transportation managers at the center of a 2017 whistleblower-retaliation scandal have retired following a six-month internal investigation into possible new policy violations.

The Statesman Journal reports that David McKane and David Fifer worked for ODOT’s Motor Carrier Transportation Division, which regulates trucking and operates weigh stations throughout the state.

Both were put on paid administrative leave on Aug. 27, 2019.  The agency says neither returned or will return to work.

The Statesman Journal detailed nearly a decade of problems at the Motor Carrier Division in a special report published in November 2017.

The report documented multiple complaints by at least four whistleblowers. They involved allegations of contracting irregularities, code and safety violations, contractor overbilling, personal activities on work time, and more.