The State Department is looking into the fee waiver issue raised this week by Monroe County Clerk Adam Bello. Bello says the clerk’s office improperly waived local processing fees for hundreds of passports and state pistol permits under former Clerk Cheryl Dinolfo, the current county executive.
The U.S. Department of State’s press office says in a statement the department is aware of the media coverage concerning the issue and is looking into it to “ensure the integrity of the passport application process.
Dinolfo says the appropriate federal and state fees were charged, but her supervisors had discretion to waive the local processing fees when allowed by law in the interests of good customer service.
Dinolfo was county clerk from 2004 until she became county exec this year. She’s a Republican. Bello is a Democrat, appointed by Governor Cuomo to fill the vacant seat. He’s running for election to the job this fall. Bello says the waivers cost taxpayers $35,000.