EAST CHICAGO | The story of Roy Borom, East Chicago's inspector of weights and measures, raises two questions:

First, why does the city pay $36,448 annually to a city inspector when the gas pumps and grocery scales of every other municipality in Lake County are overseen by county inspectors, who would be legally required to monitor East Chicago's if the city cut the job?

Second, why did the city in 2008 hire Borom, a felon convicted in 1992 of stealing computer and video equipment while he worked in the Gary public schools?

Borom gave a concise answer to the question of his criminal record.

"I think that everybody makes mistakes," he said.

He deferred to Mayor George Pabey's administration to explain why the city has its own one-man weights and measures department when the taxpayers of East Chicago already contribute to the county department's budget. City hall officials, including Pabey's spokesman, Damian Rico, and Controller Charlie "Tuna" Pacurar, did not return calls.

East Chicago is the last city in Northwest Indiana with its own inspector, and the city is the smallest of six in the state that haven't ceded responsibility to their counties. Aiming to shave costs, Gary dropped its department last year, and Hammond did the same in 2005.

The Gary department's demise shaved about $57,000 from the city's yearly budget, and the county department needed about $30,500 more in its 2008 budget to monitor Gary, said Christine Clay, director of the county weights and measures department.

Weights and measures inspectors monitor many commercial measuring devices, but the yearly inspection of gas pumps is about one-third of the job, Clay said.

Four full-time county inspectors monitor 228 gas stations and 28 truck stops, Clay said. That works out to 64 gas stations and truck stops per inspector. County payroll records indicate the highest-paid county inspector makes a base salary of $25,235.

Borom couldn't say exactly how many gas stations are in East Chicago, but he estimated eight. City payroll records say Borom makes $36,448 yearly, about $30 more than Clay's base salary.

But Borom said he works 40 hours per week on inspections and paperwork, and he said he makes an average of 500 to 600 inspections per month. Asked what meters and scales account for those inspection figures, Borom referred questions to Pacurar. Borom, who sometimes drives a city vehicle, noted he holds state certifications.

"I am there to enforce the guidelines of the state, and to see that people don't get cheated," he said.

Borom does a job held by Drew Pastrick late in the 33-year mayoral administration of his father, Robert Pastrick. Drew Pastrick's name came up during the recent damages hearing in the state of Indiana's civil lawsuit against his father over the 1999 sidewalks-for-votes scandal. Jailed former city controller Ed Maldonado testified at the recent hearing that Drew Pastrick sometimes did not show up for work when he was getting paid for that job.

This is not the first time Borom has drawn attention to the city. He was a "court coordinator" for his cousin, former East Chicago City Judge and current State Sen. Lonnie Randolph, D-East Chicago, for a few months in 1999. At that time, Borom also was the Gary Housing Authority's maintenance foreman. Borom quit the $19,000-per-year court job after a Times story described his employment and criminal record.

Borom said Wednesday the weights-and-measures post is his only current job.

In 1991, Borom was arrested by Gary police for stealing computer and video equipment from Gary public schools. Records showed Borom was a full-time public school employee who worked in the locksmith shop. According to Times reports, Borom pleaded guilty to two counts of felony theft, and he was sentenced as a misdemeanor offender to one year of probation. A probation violation would have led to a one-year prison sentence.

Borom said he won't break the law again.

"There's nothing to steal, and I just want to do a job that I was hired to do," he said.