THOUSAND OAKS : State Investigating $10,000 in Calls

California State Police are investigating about $10,000 in unauthorized long-distance telephone calls made from the Thousand Oaks office of the state Department of Rehabilitation, officials said Wednesday.

The illegal calls were discovered by the supervisor of the Thousand Oaks office during a routine audit in July, said Russ Enyart, a department spokesman in Sacramento. The calls, made between May and June, were all out of state and out of the country.

After an internal investigation, the matter was turned over to the California State Police, who began investigating the matter last week, Enyart said. It was not clear why it took so long before law enforcement officials were informed, he said.

Earl G. Cleveland, supervisor of the Thousand Oaks’ office, said his office is “very concerned. Anytime you are dealing with taxpayer money you have to answer a lot of questions on how that money is being used.”

In addition to the Thousand Oaks office, which has a staff of eight, Enyart said the Department of Rehabilitation operates offices in Oxnard and Ventura. He said the department assists mentally and physically disabled people in attaining employment.

Enyart said he did not know what time of day the unauthorized calls were made or if they were made to the same numbers.

Enyart said no employees had been fired or suspended in connection with the ongoing investigation.

California State Police officials involved in the investigation could not be reached for comment Wednesday.

Enyart said locks on the doors of the Thousand Oaks Boulevard office had been changed.

Enyart also noted that a recent audit of phone calls showed that no illegal calls had been made since June.