Prince William County has hired a new chief information officer, with the announcement arriving about a year after one of the biggest embezzlement schemes in county history.
New CIO Thomas A. McQuillan has served as New Mexico’s deputy Cabinet secretary for the Department of Information Technology since June 2009.
“It has been a long and thorough search to find the right candidate to fill the county’s CIO position,” said County Executive Melissa Peacor.
Before working in New Mexico, McQuillan spent 25 years as the director of Information Technology for Grand Rapids, Mich. He holds a bachelor’s of science degree in computer science from Michigan State University.
“More than anything, he has extensive knowledge, background, and breadth” in information technology, said county spokesman Jason Grant.
The announcement of McQuillan’s hiring comes a little over a year after a bid-rigging scandal involving the county’s Information technology department. Massoud Nourbakhsh, former director of the Office of Information Technology, resigned in the wake of an investigation, though he was not charged with any crimes.
Four people were indicted last June on a number of state charges, including bid rigging, racketeering and money laundering. The scheme involved about $8 million in county contracts approved for several companies. An investigation accused the men of concocting shell companies to be awarded the county projects.
Maneesh Gupta, former systems division chief for the Office of Information Technology, was fired in May 2009 as the investigation began. Gupta is set to face trial in August.
Former county employee John Roessler, his brother Vernon Roessler, and Richard Billingsley of Springfield were also indicted. John and Vernon Roessler are set to face trial in September; Billingsley’s May 25 trial was continued to October, according to court records. All four have been released on bond.
Prince William also named Steven Solomon its new finance director. Solomon comes from neighboring Fairfax County, where he worked for seven years, most recently as director of finance for the Department of Housing and Community Development.
