Background Checks Called Inadequate

She said such evidence was sought but was not provided. Her findings were first reported by the Washington Examiner.

The office involved is under Gandhi's supervision, but it is distinct from the Office of Tax and Revenue, in which authorities recently exposed the largest embezzlement scheme in the city's history.

In the scheme, a tax office manager and her accomplices created about $48 million in bogus tax refunds, authorities said.

Gandhi's office, which has 1,200 employees who work throughout city government, has been on the receiving end of other rebukes.

In the spring, independent consultants from the accounting firm BDO Seidman gave the city's financial controls their worst ratings in years, highlighting what they said were problems in the public schools, Medicaid programs and the tax office.

Another accounting firm reported that the Integrated Tax System, installed by Gandhi years ago, has failed to collect millions in taxes.

Nichols previously voiced dissatisfaction with another aspect of the city's financial operations under Gandhi: oversight of the city's cash advance fund.