THE CITY THAT NEVER SLEEPS ??

CityTime Crime Is Mayor Bloomberg's Shame
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Michael Bloomberg has always yearned to be remembered as one of the great New York mayors -- maybe the greatest. Now, thanks to a monster City Hall scandal, the central bragging right of his administration -- Bloomberg's savvy businessman-approach to governing -- is teetering.

The scandal is known as CityTime, and it involves hundreds of millions of dollars stolen or wasted from beneath the mayor's slumbering nose. (If you think New York is the city that never sleeps, think again.)

The thefts took place over a seven-year period from 2003 to 2010, and became bolder as the years passed. A $63 million project mushroomed into a $650 million boondoggle. All this to stop janitors, typists and other city workers from cheating on their timesheets.

Bloomberg needs to talk frankly about how such a mess happened on the watch of a mayor who's supposed to be a great manager -- particularly of things financial.

It might not make him feel better. But at least he'd be educating us in how to make sure that when the next scandal hits, it doesn't involve billions.