Payday for controversial ex-Parking Authority boss

Vincent J. Fenerty Jr., who left the Philadelphia Parking Authority after sexual harassment allegations, will ring in the new year with some extra cash in his pocket.

The former PPA executive director was paid $227,238 Friday in unused vacation, administrative leave, comp time, and sick leave, according to agency spokesman Marty O'Rourke.

"As an employee with over 30 years of service, Mr. Fenerty earned leave at the maximum rate," O'Rourke said in an email. "Comp time was earned consistent with policies in the employee manual."

O'Rourke said he could not immediately provide an itemized breakdown of the payment. The Inquirer and Daily News reported this week that Fenerty was seeking a six-figure payout for the unused time.

A spokesman for Mayor Kenney said Friday that the administration was "very disappointed in the entire matter," referring to Fenerty's departure.

The 60-year-old Republican ward leader was forced out of his job in September after Inquirer columnist Mike Newall reported that as executive director, he had been accused of sexually harassing two PPA employees in the early 2000s and 2014.

Fenerty, who was paid $223,000 a year, tendered his resignation a day before the PPA board had planned to terminate him. He is collecting a $158,628 pension - the highest in the city's retirement system.

O'Rourke said the payment did not require approval by the PPA board.

"The board was informed of the amount. Since it was consistent with payout procedures for any employee, the board did not need to take any action," O'Rourke said. "It will be paid out [Friday] and it will come from the [PPA] general fund."

Last year, Fenerty paid $30,000 for an outside investigation that found he had sexually harassed a senior director at the PPA, the Inquirer reported in September. The board responded by removing some of his responsibilities, but allowing him to keep his job at full pay.

Fenerty stepped down after the Inquirer reported soon after that the PPA in 2007 had offered $150,000 to another woman who had accused Fenerty of licking her ear, pulling down her blouse to reveal her cleavage, and other inappropriate contact.

He started working for the PPA in 1983 and had the distinction of being the first person to boot a vehicle in the city.

The Republican-controlled PPA board in October selected Clarena Tolson, a Democrat, to replace Fenerty. Tolson had been Kenney's deputy managing director for infrastructure and transportation.

Kenney spokesman Mike Dunn said: "We are confident that under the new leadership of Clarena Tolson we have turned the page and moved forward while the many issues facing the authority are being addressed."

benderw@phillynews.com215-854-5255@wbender99