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Ferdinand Risco resigned as executive director of TARC on Feb. 12, 2020 after less than a year on the job. 

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- An internal investigative report alleges that the former director of the city's bus service exposed himself, asked for sexual favors, gave his victims promotions for jobs they were not qualified for and went on lavish trips at taxpayers' expense.

The 124-page report released Tuesday by TARC alleges that beyond sexual misconduct, Ferdinand Risco engaged in "severe financial improprieties" and ran up "outrageous and egregious" travel expenses that in one year exceeded $60,000, or more than four times as much as was spent by the prior director.

Risco resigned in February amid allegations of sexual misconduct involving at least six female employees of the public transportation system. 

"During the investigation into Risco, discoveries were made not only of his sexual misconduct, but also of severe financial improprieties that occurred under his management," the report states.

"It is the opinion of these authors that Risco's travel was outrageous and egregious. It paints a picture of an executive who gradually took advantage of TARC over time, testing structures and boundaries, so he could travel to dozens of cities at considerable expense to TARC," the report reads.

The report alleges that Risco's travel habits went "off the rails" in late 2019.

The report claims that from the latter parts of 2019 to February, Risco spent $47,000 on trips to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina; Dallas; Chicago; Toronto; Tampa, Florida; St. Louis; San Francisco; Austin, Texas; San Diego; New York, Philadelphia; Hartford, Connecticut; Atlanta; and six times to Washington, D.C.

The report noted that Risco got a hotel in Atlanta, even though his home was there.

"He stayed in expensive hotels and there is evidence that he ate well and drank alcohol at the expense of TARC," the report reads.

"It is offensive that a public transit employee could stay in a $600 a night hotel, run up a $400 bar tab, and ride in a $30 Lyft LX to go a couple of miles for dozens of days," the authors wrote.

Investigators also wrote that one contractor Risco was sleeping with was paid $228,000 by TARC while doing little to no work.

That allegation was also outlined in a lawsuit filed by TARC against Risco last month that accused him of fraud, malice, corruption and misrepresentation. 

The lawsuit also claims Risco targeted mostly Black single mothers and traded high-dollar jobs and contracts for sex. It also alleges that he referred to what he called his "boom boom" room where he wanted to have sex with TARC employees. 

All three of the women mentioned in the lawsuit were paid thousands of dollars each in TARC settlements. A lawsuit seeks $800,000 to cover the costs of legal fees and settlements paid to Risco's alleged victims.

Risco has not been criminally charged.

Investigators in Tuesday's report claim, "It is likely because of Risco's pattern of behaviors towards his victims that no one came forward to report. They were silent."

No one reported any instances of Risco's behavior to TARC's board until a witness came forward in late January, according to the report.

In a statement sent to WDRB News on Tuesday, TARC said the report "represents the fulfillment of our commitment to you and the public to get to the bottom of what happened during Risco's tenure at TARC, and to effectively address it. We strongly believe the remedies identified in this report, which have already been implemented, will ensure a positive, forward-thinking, service-oriented workplace culture for the next several decades."

In August, TARC's interim co-executive directors Laura Douglas and Margaret Handmaker called Risco's alleged actions "very serious and damaging," while pledging to take aggressive action to prevent similar actions in the future.

Louisville Metro Council in February voted to launch its own investigation into the allegations, what breakdowns at TARC allowed the alleged harassment to take place and how to stop it from happening again. 

The allegations and investigation prompted Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer and TARC's board of directors to launch an anonymous tip line for employees, customers and residents to share concerns about TARC operations. 

In July, David Beyer, a retired FBI agent hired by Metro Council to investigate the allegations against Risco, said TARC refused to turn over evidence.

During a Metro Council meeting that month, Beyer said he had discovered "egregious" abuse and that TARC had refused to turn over key evidence he said would help him uncover the truth.

In a statement, TARC said it was "fully cooperating" with the investigation, including arranging "interviews with all board members and employees requested by Mr. Beyer" and releasing "all evidence sought" by Beyer.

But Beyer said TARC had failed to send him three things: names of any potential victims, names of witnesses and any reports related to those people, saying those materials would help him conduct a more thorough investigation.

Councilman Brent Ackerson, D-26, who is the chair of the committee investigating the allegations, said he fears TARC might be hiding something. He said his committee would be ready to subpoena TARC if its attorneys and board continued to "stonewall" the council investigator on key documents.

At the time, Beyer said he had interviewed some executives from TARC, as well as seven potential victims and found that the conduct he'd documented might warrant criminal charges. 

Since then, TARC and members of the Louisville Metro Council have clashed over transparency in the investigation, accusing one of another of conducting a comprised investigation. 

In late July, after Beyer's claims that TARC was withholding information, Beyer told Ackerson that Matthew Golden, an interim attorney representing TARC and its board, finally released the names of potential witnesses and victims, but had yet to release any written reports or notes Beyer says could help corroborate his findings and help the Council get to the truth.

Golden and TARC, however, argued that those notes, written by the agency's attorneys, were protected from release by attorney-client privilege. But, Golden and Douglas assured the Council that TARC wants what they want and has no reason to cover up for the former director. Both sides acknowledged that a judge might be needed to determine whether TARC is obligated to release the remaining documents to the Council.

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