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WestWorld aide fired over free RV site
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A WestWorld employee has been fired by Scottsdale for letting her sister park her RV free at the facility and then deleting records to cover it up.
Cyndi Shy, who says she was following standard practice, was dismissed from her position of senior customer support representative following a city investigation.
The decision was made four months after the Scottsdale Police Department arrested Shy at work and recommended misdemeanor theft charges. Scottsdale city prosecutor Caron Close said the city will not prosecute.
Shy’s sister stayed in her RV at WestWorld of Scottsdale from Nov. 10-28 last year without paying, a value of $402.84, according to the police report.
Shy first told police her sister stayed three days, but later said 18 days was correct, according to the report. Shy then deleted the reservation from the system, the report states.
According to the city’s dismissal letter, Shy argued in pre-termination hearings that she had the discretion to authorize “no charge” sales for known individuals and that deleting records was a common practice.
The city interviewed current and former employees who said authorization would be required, and in this case it was never approved.
In a written statement to the Tribune, Shy wrote that allowing complementary spaces at WestWorld “was a norm” and not discouraged until after ethics training in May — six months after the incident. Shy wrote that she did not believe she was doing anything wrong.
“The real crime here is the city of Scottsdale’s handling of this complaint,” Shy wrote. “What should have resulted in a change in policy and at the most a disciplinary action, resulted in an arrest, an investigation costing over $10,000 in my administrative leave wages alone, and the loss of a valuable seasoned employee that had always received top-notch performance reviews.”
Shy is appealing the decision. A hearing before the Scottsdale Personnel Board is set for Dec. 12.
Scottsdale spokesman Pat Dodds said the city had no further comment.
Shy had been on paid administrative leave since June 7. She had worked for the city since September 1999, earning $42,161 a year booking and managing the RV rentals at WestWorld, a city-operated special events and equestrian center at 16601 N. Pima Road.
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