Misconduct rocks State Comptroller’s office

Outgoing State Comptroller Micha Lindenstrauss may take disciplinary action against two of his office’s senior position holders after it emerged on Monday they allegedly engaged in illicit activity.

The announcement of misconduct in the State Comptroller’s office came the same day that the Knesset appointed Lindenstrauss’s replacement, Yosef Shapira.

The State Comptroller’s office’s acting director general Boaz Aner reportedly taught at Bar Ilan University in addition to his government job and had not renewed his permit for outside work for an extended period of time.

Aner responded saying he only taught auditing classes and there was never any conflict of interest. He said his teaching was conducted on his own time, that it didn’t diminish from his professional performance, and that he did not violate civil service regulations.

Aner was reportedly in charge of investigations of precisely these kinds of violations by others.

A second, unnamed staffer — a deputy department director — allegedly punctured the tires of a senior office worker at the State Comptroller’s offices in Jerusalem’s Givat Shaul neighborhood. The car’s tires were punctured twice before the office turned to the police. Cameras placed in the parking lot showed the staffer standing next to the car in question, but did not show him puncturing the tires.

The suspected employee denied the allegations, but reportedly faces dismissal pending a hearing.