Embattled Tri-Cities transit leader now out on leave. Investigation continues
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Thomas Drozt voluntarily took paid administrative leave during misconduct probe.
- Board voted to open investigation after former CFO's allegations of financial wrongdoing.
- Interim CEO named; records requests and board review of contracts remain pending.
Ben Franklin Transit’s embattled CEO is on leave while an outside law firm investigates claims of financial misconduct.
The agency’s attorney Jeremy Bishop said in a letter sent to staff Friday morning that Thomas Drozt has voluntarily taken paid administrative leave while the investigation continues.
The transit board, which is made up of elected officials from across the Tri-Cities, voted to open an investigation in December and in January Bishop told the board they had found an outside firm for the task.
Transit employees have also raised concerns over workplace bullying, toxicity and Drozt creating a “chaotic” environment. The investigation is only looking into the financial allegations.
“Following careful consultation with the Executive Committee, Mr. Drozt and agency leadership determined that this step is in the best interest of the organization,” Bishop wrote in the email to staff that was obtained by the Herald.
“Although the investigation has progressed more slowly than anticipated, all parties agree that placing Mr. Drozt on leave will help minimize any potential distractions and allow BFT to remain fully focused on delivering reliable, high-quality transit services to the communities we serve.”
Another member of the management team quit last month and sent an email to the board detailing toxic behavior, unfair hiring practices and more.
Chief Experience Officer Brian Lubanksi will step in as interim CEO.
Bishop thanked Drozt for his dedication and said the agency remains committed to focusing conducting the investigation with “fairness, thoroughness, and respect for everyone involved.”
The Tri-City Herald has tried to contact Bishop for more information.
The transit agency’s next board meeting is Feb. 12 at 6 p.m. at the Ben Franklin Transit offices, 1000 Columbia Park Trail in Richland. The meetings are held in-person and also available on Zoom.
Mismanagement claims
Drozt has been under fire since late November after the agency’s former Chief Financial Officer Alex Smith quit and sent a letter to the board urging them to look into a series of claims that Drozt was overspending, awarding contracts to friends and family and may have violated fiscal policies.
Smith was one of several members of management staff that Drozt previously worked with in Arizona.
The Tri-City Herald requested records related to these claims in December under the Washington Public Records Act, but still has not received the relevant records.
Among the more prominent claims were that he spent more than $60,000 on golf carts for events, awarded a contract to his stepson and another to a registered sex offender he had previously worked with and was putting together a multi-million dollar grant program without taking the proper steps.
It’s unclear if the payment to his stepson was ever processed, but the transit agency did pay $10,000 to $15,000 a month for most of 2025 to a consulting agency linked to Daniel Matta of Phoenix.
Matta was convicted of sexual conduct with a minor in 2018, and after a series of appeals over evidentiary questions he served five years in prison, according to the Arizona Department of Corrections.
Matta formed a limited liability company in Richland in June. The company, called Something Unlimited, was awarded a contract worth more than $125,000. Board packets show the transit agency made monthly payments ranging from $10,000 to $15,000 to Something Unlimited for consulting services.
The payments began in April, months before the company was registered in Washington state.
The payments are included under monthly vouchers. It’s unclear if a contract for consulting services would have needed board approval.
Public records show Matta has a history of owning companies with similar names.
Meeting minutes, public presentations and interviews with BFT staff and board members have shown that most of the claims appear to have merit.
The Washington State Auditor’s Office also confirmed they are looking into some of the claims.
$3 million grant program
Pasco Mayor Charles Grimm recently told the Tri-City Herald that the meeting about potentially creating a $3 million grant program did take place, but was blown out of proportion.
He said he was disappointed that a project meant to be a good thing that helps the community and promotes the agency got lumped in with the other concerns.
He provided documentation that he said shows that he and Franklin County Commissioner Stephen Bauman asked Drozt to put together a proposal to present to the full board at a later date. The idea was to take money just being earned in interest and use it to support small, transit adjacent projects in the cities the agency serves.
He believes they had the discussions within the bounds of Washington’s Open Meetings Act.
The projects could be things like pothole repair on roadways buses traffic heavily or ADA compliance near bus stops, Grimm told the Herald.
The proposal still needs a legal review before it can be presented to the full board.
Grimm said there were no documents signed at the meeting or commitments made.
Police and security
Drozt also was under fire for management staff calling the police on Teamsters 839 Secretary Russell Shjerven before the board’s contentious December meeting.
The transit agency’s management staff called the police on employees or union representatives at least six times over the course of about one week in December.
They also called police on a former employee who confronted Drozt during the meeting and allegedly spit on a company car when he left. Richland police said the man did not commit a crime, according to records obtained by the Herald.
The calls to Richland police also revealed that transit management told dispatchers they had hired security for the board meeting because employees were planning to picket.
Drozt claimed during the meeting the armed security guards were just part of a new pilot program meant to eventually expand.
Shjerven told the Herald that the guards have not expanded to other areas over the past two months and seem to be there to intimidate employees, and aren’t there at times when they would make employees feel safer such as shift changes.
The Herald has learned that the security guards have also stood in doorways of meetings they were not invited to.
