Michigan firm under investigation accuses Poplar Bluff of owing $376,000

POPLAR BLUFF, Mo. -- A Michigan technology firm accused of overbilling one county and bribing officials in another now says Poplar Bluff owes almost $376,000 in unpaid bills.

Information Systems Intelligence, hired at the urging of now-fired city manager Heath Kaplan, said the money is from 12 invoices.

Meanwhile, city officials said no invoices have been paid to the company since June.

Current city manager Mark Massingham said he could not discuss the matter. ISI already has received $3.5 million in city money from no-bid contracts over a five-month period last year.

City documents show until September, the city thought less than $78,000 was outstanding in ISI bills. Of the money paid, nearly $28,000 was for technology and services that never came before the council for a vote. That includes charges for travel expenses and labor to assess Poplar Bluff's technology infrastructure in September 2014.

Most of the new bills appear to relate to a purchase approved by the council in December 2014 for a disaster-recovery project. The project was pitched by Kaplan as a consolidated 911 center.

What the city actually purchased was more than $1 million in data recovery equipment stored with ISI in Michigan, where Kaplan worked. More than $300,000 of the project paid for high-end video conferencing equipment.

At the end of June, police estimated less than $10,000 in new technology was provided for the opening of the city's new 911 center. No video conferencing equipment had been installed.

More than $21,000 of the new bills occurred in September and October 2014, before the first city council meeting concerning ISI. Nearly all this cost paid for about 120 hours of labor by ISI system engineers.

The Butler County Sheriff's Department is investigating possible illegal purchases during Kaplan's tenure as city manager. Sheriff Mark Dobbs has said charges could be brought against Kaplan or ISI employees.

Muskegon County, Michigan, abruptly dropped ISI in April and began a forensic audit of its contracts with the company. Kaplan served as a technology director there before coming to Poplar Bluff. The Michigan county also has alleged it was overcharged by ISI.

Ingham County, Michigan, fired its technology director in October, alleging the man had accepted gifts from ISI and another county contractor.

Pertinent address:

Poplar Bluff, Mo.