A Naples stormwater supervisor has been fired from his city job and is now under criminal investigation after admitting he used two employees’ city credit cards to buy automotive tools, camping chairs and other personal items.

Jovan Stojisavljevic, 35, of Orchid Run apartments in East Naples, a longtime city employee, was terminated Nov. 25 after violating seven city policies, including lying about the purchases and failing to attend two scheduled administrative hearings. A joint Public Works and Finance department investigation showed Stojisavljevic, a Streets & Stormwater Division supervisor, purchased knives, a spear, camping chairs, YETI tumblers, automotive tools, automotive test equipment and tool chests. “An active criminal investigation is ongoing as of Nov. 25,” said Naples Police Lt. Bryan McGinn, a department spokesman, adding that he can’t provide further information. “Once the investigation is completed, more information will be made available.”

A police report shows Stojisavljevic is being investigated on grand theft charges involving embezzlement of between $20,000 and $100,000 of city property, a second-degree felony punishable by up to 15 years in state prison and a $10,000 fine.

An anonymous letter sent by a “concerned” business owner to City Council members, City Manager Jay Boodheshwar and City Finance Director Gary Young reported that Stojisavljevic had purchased tools worth “thousands of dollars,” sold them and pocketed the cash. He also bragged that he rarely needed to purchase gas for his vehicle because he fills gas cans at city pumps and “sneaks” them out. The tipster said he’d heard rumors for months but ignored them until his employees told him Stojisavljevic offered to sell them tools.

“Jovan Stojisavljevic feels very emboldened that he will not get caught, so he must have someone covering for him,” the letter said. “He recently told an employee, however, that he thought the city might be onto him, so he rounded up tools and put them in a city truck [so] as to appear that there were no tools missing.”

A police report says that on Sept. 20, attorney Michael P. Murawski, executive director of the city’s Commission on Ethics and Governmental Integrity, contacted a city detective about an ethics complaint he’d received from two city employees alleging possible misappropriation of city assets, theft and credit-card fraud by their supervisor, Stojisavljevic. The detective referred the complaint to the Human Resources and Finance departments for further investigation.

On Nov. 27, the detective met with Young, who wanted to discuss the ongoing audit and internal investigation. He provided the detective with a sworn statement accusing Stojisavljevic of using city credit cards fraudulently and committing grand theft, and said city officials intended to pursue criminal charges involving theft of city property. Young said the audit is expected to be completed by early 2025.

Stojisavljevic, the son of a former 18-year city employee, did not reply to an email from The Naples Press or calls to two phone numbers listed to him.

Stojisavljevic’s personnel file shows he’s a Naples High School graduate and served three years as a U.S. Army infantryman, including in Afghanistan, before joining the Florida National Guard and ending his service April 26, 2018.

He was hired in June 2007 for two months as a summer Public Works Department intern, was then hired as a temporary employee and became a full-time service worker in the wastewater treatment plant in February 2008 and later moved to the utilities division. But he was terminated Aug. 20, 2009, five days after swerving into traffic, riding onto a median and crashing into bushes as a Florida Highway Patrol officer watched. He pleaded guilty to DUI, his commercial driver’s license was suspended and he was terminated because he couldn’t drive a city vehicle and his traffic violations that year, including speeding, exceeded city standards.

Records indicate he was an AFSCME union member, although he asked to stop paying union dues five days before the crash. The union filed a grievance saying he was wrongfully terminated, but he pulled his grievance and wasn’t represented. It’s unclear when he returned, but he was working for the city in May 2012.

He was moved to another division in 2014 as a utilities technician and rose up the ranks to senior technician and interim supervisor until he was promoted to stormwater operations supervisor in April 2023, when his salary increased from $53,668 to $60,182 annually.

Although there were concerns about his past driving record, his personnel record shows he was praised for his work and attitude, received bonuses and had the use of a city vehicle; he also was paid a monthly cellphone stipend so he could be on call. But he had another crash in 2019, which raised concerns.

His personnel file shows he was given a P-Card on March 12, 2019, for single purchases up to $1,000, or up to $5,000 monthly, at Home Depot, Lowe’s and other stores that accept P-Cards. He signed a form acknowledging he could face termination and criminal prosecution if he misused the card.

P-Cards improve efficiency in processing low-dollar purchases, reduce small-dollar purchase orders and petty-cash use and reduce time spent by the employee’s department and the Purchasing and Accounting Divisions, which process the low-dollar transactions.

On Oct. 4, 2024, city management met with Stojisavljevic to inspect items stored onsite and to compare them to invoices. When questioned about items he’d purchased that weren’t found on city property, Stojisavljevic claimed he’d thrown some away and returned others to vendors for work under the warranty.

“Further auditing determined that many items purchased were not related to maintenance of the city’s stormwater system but related to automobile maintenance,” Public Works Director Bob Middleton wrote to Stojisavljevic in a notice of disciplinary action. “Many items were unable to be matched to an invoice and not found on city property.”

Ten days later, when management questioned him about using the employees’ P-Cards, he admitted he’d used them, opened his wallet and gave them back to management, along with his own P-Card. He said he was aware his actions violated city policy and was placed on paid administrative leave effective Oct. 15.

On Nov. 19, he refused to sign a Garrity Warning because his attorney wasn’t present. Named after a U.S. Supreme Court ruling, the warning protects an employee’s Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination by ensuring statements made during an internal investigation can’t be used in a criminal proceeding. Stojisavljevic was then placed on unpaid leave.

The administrative hearing was postponed a day, but that evening, Stojisavljevic texted city officials that his attorney couldn’t attend the next day either. He was discharged on Nov. 25 for violating seven city policies.