So I take it you read this part: " ... not all local gov't payroll clerks are corrupt."?
See my #152.
It not the kind of thing a clerk would be told or could likely know. The only time someone doing payroll is contacted by someone they're cutting checks for, is when an error has been made & it's not in favor of the employee.
People doing the hiring might know. Someone had to generate training records for the ghosts, so someone in that department might know. People doing the firing would know. People doing performance reviews might know. Someone doing the scheduling would know. Union rep might know. Did the ghosts have health insurance?