Thread: County: Arpaio's office misspent up to $64M

County: Arpaio's office misspent up to $64M

Supervisors say they likely have to repay using general fund

Yvonne Wingett -
Sept. 22, 2010 11:15 AM
The Arizona Republic

The Maricopa County Board of Supervisors will have to use the general fund to repay as much as $64 million that county officials said Wednesday the Sheriff's Office misused from a fund for jail operations.

The county's Office of Management and Budget on Wednesday unveiled its first evidence of misuse of public funds by the Sheriff's Office, presenting key findings to the board after hundreds of hours of staff research.


Officials reviewed findings involving sheriff's purchasing-cards, the detention fund, cash handling and extradition and travel policies, County Manager David Smith said.

The detailed review of spending by the county found stays in Puerto Rico and Belize charged to county credit cards, and unusual expenditures like first-class airfare upgrades, stays at luxury hotels and $2,215.48 spent at the Disneyworld Yacht Club Resort.

"We have hundreds of dollars spent at resorts, including room service … in what appear to be leisurely activities," said Lee Ann Bohn, a deputy budget director.

The findings mirror those of an Arizona Republic investigation earlier this year into Sheriff's Office credit-card use.

According to some financial records, Bohn said, training trips to Honduras by 10 Sheriff's Office employees in July 2007 and October 2007 cost $91,000 in salaries, overtime, benefits and airfare.

Other major findings by county budget officials substantiated that the Sheriff's Office tapped the jail-operations fund to pay for functions not allowed under jail-fund rules, such as salaries for deputies who worked on public-corruption investigations into county supervisors and judges.

Deputy County Manager Sandi Wilson told the board the county gathered business cards left by deputies working Arpaio's corruption task force and discovered they were being paid with detention funds.

County human-resources data, information from a racial-profiling lawsuit and other documents show many Sheriff's Office employees were not working in the same job assignments recorded for them in county records.

Wilson said the Sheriff's Office kept a separate set of personnel books detailing actual work assignments. Those assignments are different than information kept on the county's official human-resources records.

"They actually kept a shadow system," she alleged. Wilson also asserted that the Sheriff's Office annually has spent at least $16 million from the detention fund inappropriately. The problem could stretch back at least four years, she said, and could cost as much as $64 million, possibly more depending on how long the problem existed.

That money comes from a general sales tax approved by voters. Its use is restricted to spending on jail items such as food, detention officers' salaries and equipment

"That means there is a state law, and a voter-protected funding source being violated, and remedies will have to be taken," Smith said. "Is it $60 (million), is it $70 (million) . . . is it more? That is the most serious issue."

Wilson said budget officials needed more records and more cooperation from sheriff's officials to determine the extent of the problem.

Supervisor Andy Kunasek said he believed the Sheriff's Office needed an audit of the fund. The agency over the last year has resisted at least five audits of their books.

Sheriff's officials also were alleged to have misused jail-enhancement funds, backfilling the account using general fund dollars that are less restrictive, Bohn said.

"Should we be getting a freeze exemption approval before processing the (purchase order)?" one Sheriff's e-mail said. "This could be something sensitive that shouldn't go through the county."

http://www.azcentral.com/news/election/ ... z10Hg8qdA2

Good for them they deserve to have fun..Did ya forget that you want to give illegals a nice little house with bingo and good food ..But that's okay if it's spent on the illegals right.
As far as I'm concerned they do not get paid enough to put up with all the drugs the mules the kidnappings the ILLEGALS the hit and runs the shootings the threat's and to put up with their own government shoving everything up their you know what ! Oh boy I can go on and on...Why don't you focus on the ones that are draining our country of money and jobs and our safety get the money back from Mexico. And once again IF this is true which I don't care and When he speaks I will believe what he says.
Either way they deserve 100% more than what you give them....GO ARIZONA!!!!
They are keeping us safer than our President!!!

I like Sheriff Joe, but someone in his department has some explaining to do.
His top aid was removed from duty yesterday.

RELATED

Joe Arpaio's top aide placed on leave

http://www.alipac.us/ftopict-212909.html

This is so sad ... I have to agree with you Johndoe2