Authorities allege ex-Kansas City employee misspent $215K, stole thousands from city

A former maintenance employee for Kansas City’s water utility is accused of funneling $215,000 of public money to companies owned by his relatives, and stealing at least $25,000 for himself.

The employee, 49-year-old Steven E. Berry, worked as an electrical superintendent for KC Water until May 2021. The alleged fraud was brought to the attention of Kansas City police in July 2022 following internal and external audits of the city’s books, according to charging documents filed in Clay County Circuit Court.

Prosecutors this week charged Berry, 49, of Kansas City, with a Class C felony of stealing more than $25,000. A criminal summons was issued Wednesday and his first court appearance is scheduled for next month.

Berry did not return The Star’s phone call or emails seeking comment. Online court records did not list a defense attorney representing him in the case.

Sherae Honeycutt, a spokeswoman for Kansas City, confirmed Berry is no longer a city employee. She said the city “does not comment on pending litigation” but will “as always, cooperate with investigators.”

According to court documents, Berry oversaw electrical equipment maintenance for the Kansas City Water Services Department at 1 N.W. Briarcliff Road, along with 13 pumping stations around the city.

He was entrusted with a Kansas City procurement card and authorized to use it for emergencies, such as equipment failures. Per the city’s policy, there were checks and balances including expense reviews by his direct supervisor and a city financial manager.

In April 2021, an internal audit identified 67 purchases made by Berry that were “suspect,” a Kansas City police detective wrote in a probable cause affidavit in support of criminal charges. The purchases were flagged by computer software that looks for things like receipts near spending limits and repetitive dollar values.

Sixty-five of those were found to have been paid to vendors associated with an electrical contracting company run by Berry’s older sister and brother-in-law, the affidavit says. The vendors were not on the city’s approved list, and direct contracts between city employees and their family members are expressly prohibited under the city’s ethics code.

During an interview with the City Auditor’s Office, Berry allegedly lied about having a family relationship with the vendors.

A forensic accounting firm was hired by the city to continue the audit and a report was presented to the City Attorney’s office in June 2022.

The accounting firm found that the emergency procurement card was being used in a structured pattern. Several receipts listed Berry’s personal email addresses. Key details were missing in paperwork, including documentation that KC Water actually received equipment and parts that were supposedly purchased.

Bank statements reviewed by the detective showed deposits “of note,” the affidavit says, to two accounts in Berry’s name that totaled $132,565 over a period of 14 months. Of those deposits, $70,162 was made in cash and came from an “unknown source,” the affidavit says.

Berry made a little less than $72,000 per year while employed by KC Water.

Bank records for Berry’s relatives were also reviewed. They showed nearly $147,000 in deposits that coincided with procurement card disbursement records, the affidavit says.

Other Kansas City employees responsible for managing KC Water expenses — neither of whom remains employed by the city — said Berry had talked about buying electrical equipment in bulk and paying back the vendors in installments to avoid hitting periodic spending limits, which is also a violation of procurement policy.

During an interview with a KCPD economic crimes detective, Berry’s former supervisor said he considered him a friend and said he signed the purchases “without looking at them.” He had always wondered how Berry “could afford some of his stuff,” according to the affidavit.

The other employee was determined to be a longtime friend of both Berry and Berry’s sister, the affidavit says, having known the sister for 30 years and attended family functions. She told the detective she felt “used” by them.

In March, the detective investigating the case attempted to visit Berry at his home and left messages with his wife and on his phone. A defense attorney declined to make him available for an interview, the affidavit says.

The detective also interviewed Berry’s sister at her home in March. She allegedly provided a vague description “material” she had that had been sold to her brother for city use.

The police interview ended when she advised she would be contacting an attorney, the affidavit says.

Berry is due to make an initial appearance in Clay County Circuit Court in January.