OCALA, FL (352today.com) – On August 4, 2026, Ocala City Councilman Jim Hilty and City Manager Pete Lee had a pointed exchange at the regular city council meeting over whether residents should have been told before that day’s scheduled city council meeting that the city had lost a large vendor payment to a scam. Hilty said the public was owed an explanation that night. Lee said the investigation was still open and that going public before a full report would be premature.
Five weeks later, Internal City Auditor Vincent Iovino’s September 8 report put a sharper point on both the money and the delay. The report states the fraud could have been stopped.
“In summary, the incident could have been stopped at the onset if the EFT verification process was followed correctly. The initial slow response to initiate the Incident Response Plan was attributed to the former Fiscal Operations Manager’s efforts of concealment through his misleading statements. The City’s insurance carrier reduced the original loss of $277,779.81 to $27,799.81.” Iovino wrote…