Administrator Fired at Fairview Developmental Center

A high-ranking Fairview Developmental Center administrator has been fired amid allegations that she had state employees perform architectural and electrical work on her house and used state property for personal reasons.

Nanette L. Gerth, facility administrator of the state residential facility for the developmentally disabled in Costa Mesa, was dismissed last week after a monthlong investigation concluded that she had used state employees to perform personal work, Fairview Executive Director Hugh Kohler said Tuesday.

A second employee, who worked for Gerth, was disciplined and placed on a 60-day unpaid leave because his workers carried out the personal tasks for Gerth, Kohler said.

The investigation was launched after “an employee brought it (the alleged abuse) to our attention. He was concerned about some of the work he’d been asked to do,” Kohler said.

According to a document that Kohler filed with the state Personnel Board, Gerth:

- Had a Fairview junior architectural assistant prepare a floor plan of her house in January, 1985. The employee spent three to four hours at her house and then worked on the drawing for about three days, all at state expense.

- Had a Fairview electrician sent to her house to repair her kitchen stove. The employee drove there in a state vehicle, on state time, and was paid by the state for the three hours spent on the task. About a week later, the same electrician was dispatched to her house to repair wiring disrupted by the installation of a bay window. The electrician spent the better part of two days on the task and installed a wood cover--prepared in Fairview’s carpentry shop--on the unfinished window.

- Has stored personal furniture in one of the Fairview residential units for more than a year.

- Authorized the chief of plant operations to use Fairview’s paint shop to paint his personal car.

- Allowed the chief of plant operations to hire his son as a carpentry supervisor. “By doing so, you condoned nepotism. . . ,” the document charges.

- Used a state car for personal use, parking it in the garage of her home, despite her assurances in a memo to Kohler that all vehicles were being used in compliance with state regulations.

Gerth could not be reached for comment, and her attorney was unavailable Tuesday. As a civil servant, Gerth is entitled to appeal the action.

Kohler said Victor Bjelajac, chief of plant operations, was suspended for 60 days because he was “instrumental” in carrying out the work, under Gerth’s direction. He could not be reached for comment.

As Fairview facility administrator, Gerth was responsible for many services in the operation of the facility, including maintenance, food service, plant operations, the pharmacy and accounting, Kohler said. Gerth has worked in the state hospital system for 22 years, the last nine of them at Fairview, he said.

Kohler said that the investigation has ended and that no other employees will be disciplined.