The Cops for Kids’ audits could be complete and presented to Mooresville commissioners as early as Jan. 2.
“I have been in contact with (accountants) Greer & Walker and Tom Himes regarding the financial audits,” Finance Director Maia Setzer said late last week, adding that “they are working together to compile one report rather than submitting separate documents.”
She said she expects to receive that report “in time to be discussed or presented at the Jan. 2 agenda briefing.” However, she added, “I really do not want to ‘promise’ that as I still have a fair amount of work to complete once I receive that report.”
Five months have passed since the Town of Mooresville launched several investigations into former police chief John Crone’s Cops for Kids program. One month after calling for the probes, the town fired Crone.
Setzer said that the “secondary review” of the police department evidence room is about half complete and that she hoped to spend “a great deal of time” in the evidence room this week “to complete the review of records.”
Maj. Carl Robbins, who has been acting chief of police since Crone was fired, said that one of the police department’s two evidence custodians recently attended 16 hours of training through a certification program sponsored by the International Association for Property and Evidence. “During the two days,” Robbins said, “she was instructed on proper packaging protocol for evidence and the most efficient use of limited space in property and evidence facilities.”
Robbins said that the police department’s two evidence custodians will soon begin transferring evidence and property to another secured room in the police department. Once the evidence room is cleaned out, the department’s new safe – which will include an electronic data trail and security camera – will be installed, he said.
“After all preparations are in place, the evidence and property will be documented and returned to its original room,” Robbins added. “Any missing or improperly documented evidence will be duly noted.”
Robbins said that the SBI – which is also investigating the Cops for Kids program – was “contacted and briefed on (the police department’s) immediate plans for the evidence and property transfer,” and that the agent in charge “saw no negative impact on his ongoing investigation.”
Town Manager Steve Husemann said he is waiting for the SBI report before hiring Crone’s replacement. “Awaiting the SBI report is somewhat of an excuse, but there is some logic to it,” he said. “If I felt we had a bad situation, I would proceed before that report is completed, but the fact is that I think Major Robbins in doing a good job as interim, and that gives me the luxury of not being in a rush to fill the position. This gives me an opportunity to get a better knowledge of (the Mooresville Police Department), its personnel and issues.
“While I don’t really expect the SBI report to have any impact on how we proceed,” Husemann said, “there is no apparent harm in awaiting the report."
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Waiting on the SBI report?! We'll be waiting until hell freezes over. Its director's good friends with the former police chief who's under this so-called investigation. The only purpose they're serving is to stall everything, which so far has worked pretty well.
At first I was frustrated by the stall tactics. Now I look at it as something that can keep the public's attention on this matter all the way til election season '09.
Take your time, folks, we can wait.
This is just ridiculous. This guy was caught redhanded, what, in early July? And now it's 6 months later and we still haven't seen nothing from the town. I remember how a couple of the commishes were jumping up and down about this and even they couldn't get this rolling any faster. Makes you wonder.
So, the Finance Director plans to spend "a great deal of time" in the evidence room THIS WEEK. Oh, but wait, it's the Holiday Season so, isn't it about time for her to take another vacation?
Hey, it's all good. This has been going on for how damn long? Now it is only a matter of weeks. No problem.
Time Traveler
Maia Setzer is a joke.
Any of the elected officials who still believe in her are fools.
Erskine Smith still collects a paycheck off of the taxpayer even though if it were up to him John Crone would still be the police chief stealing from the public.
Bill Thunberg's still the mayor who winks and nods behind closed doors to push through his own personal agendas.
Frank Rader's still a commissioner even after having obstructed justice and tampered with potential witnesses in the Cops for Kids corruption case.
All is good in Dirty Mo'Town. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.
Well now can we be surprised? I guess the new town manager is just another "bad egg" in the Mo'Town omelet. He needs to clean the dept out, there are still some crooked Crone followers there. And why did Robbins never speak up when all the wrongdoing was going on? Why did Maia Setzer never speak up? She must have been on vacation.
I'll believe Maia Setzer when I see it! BTW, did the town take the initiative and give this information to the Report or did the Report have to go asking again?
8:02...
This whole page is mostly bitching about how long this had been dragged along. There are some who still don't believe that justice will prevail. This AFTER details and paperwork were exposed and a public demonstration was held. How far do you think Carl Robbins would have made it on his own?
Wait! I know. He wouldn't have gotten anywhere except harrased, demoted or fired.
I said before that there are reasons that people like myself are anonymous. Of course the Cronies jumped on here with their paranoia accusations.
I'm glad Robbins was smart enough not to say anything. It left him in a position to be able to take over and make things right after Crone was exposed. Had he said something, he would have been gone. Now that Crone is out and there is an investigation, Robbins can tell anything he needs to.
There have been several in the county who contacted people at a state level to report wrong doings. They either got demoted or no longer work there.
Several of us in Mooresville are aware of this and knew it best not to even try.
Time Traveler
Jamie, thanks for keeping us informed and for staying on the trail. I've been reading through the various threads but have been sort of busy with lots of things and haven't had much time to comment on anything.
Given the fact that the SBI has refused to release their report of the golf course investigation, can we really expect them to be open and honest with this report? I've found that we can't rely on the DA to be open and honest about stuff, and I'll refrain from commenting on our local politico's ability to be open and honest.
As for the decision to not move forward with hiring a new chief, I think that's wise given the fact that no sane person would want to move into a department which is under current investigtion. Yes, I know the department isn't under investigation, but the department is dragged into it because of the actions of the former chief of police.
I think we need to start organizing in January to locate some folks who are interested in running against the council members who are up for vote next time. And, of course, I also think we need to push the recall issue so we always have the option of removing politicians who interfere with an ongoing investigation or commit some other illegal act.
It's good to have you back, Larry. I could not agree more with everything you said. As for Carl Robbins, word around town is that he is doing the rights things in the right ways for the right reasons. So far so good. It's hard for any of us to guess how we would act under the type of dictatorship that Crone ran.
It's time to get rid of some of the elected official dead weight, as well as some non-elected official dead weight. There's no telling how high this town can fly once we've unstrapped them off the wagon.
Well one thing is for sure. I for one am not going to forget who all was trying to cover all this up in the very beginning and brush it all under the rug (the mayor and the assistant town manager and Frank Rader). So the longer this goes on the more I know exactly who's to blame for the delay. Clock keeps ticking boys.
Dont forget we need to wipe out the entire side of the board, Rader,Herring and Carney and the Mayor. The all are in the cover up or they would all still be raising cane about the way things are here in town. They are trying to keep everything calm till the election so we will forget but we WON'T!!!!
It seems odd to me that if you search the ToM webpage one way it says job positions are froze and no applications are being accepted. If you search another way it shows the following:
Charles Mack Citizen Center Jobs: 1
Maintenance Attendant (Part-time Temporary position)
Performs unskilled manual tasks in the maintenance and security of Citizen Center for events scheduled at night and on week-ends. Building maintenance includes tasks such as restocking bathrooms, emptying trash filled containers, clean up spills, returning used equipment to proper storage area, ass... [more] Status: Open
Golf Jobs: 1
Assistant PGA Professional
An employee in this position serves as an assistant golf professional that includes supervising marshals and starters, providing customer service, and assisting with operation of the golf shop. Work includes handling public relations through daily public contact in collecting fees, scheduling tee t... [more] Status: Open
Planning Jobs: 1
Transportation Planner
An employee in this position will plan, coordinate, manage and oversee multi-model transportation planning activities, including bikeways, roadways, highways, railway pedestrian walkways, public transit and to coordinate assigned activities with other departments and outside agencies. Work includes... [more] Status: Open
At least one of these jobs was posted in November. Another example of the powers that be talking out of both sides of their mouths?
This is a little off topic technically speaking but I was reading about that corrupt Blagojevich in Chicago in NY Times, and came across a quote that reminded me of what we got here in Mooresville...The quote's by a government reform advocate about the Illinois governor.
"He was raised in the old Chicago ward system where the most important principle is loyalty," she said. "It's about protecting one another, spreading perks, and earning personal power. It's not about huge personal enrichment."
In other words, small time crooks. Sound familiar? Kinda makes you sick on your stomach.
Don't be so naive. Not all of them are "smalltime". Some of these people in the county or the town are eyeing deals in the millions of dollars. BTW the governor you're talking about also threatened the Chicago Tribune and tried to get some of their editorial board members fired for blowing the whistle. Now that definitely reminds me of your own mayor in Mooresville and others like him, some of them still in the shadows. That's what makes this blog so beautiful. There is no one these shady characters can go to to silence the truth.
Anonymous said...
Has anyone noticed that on the Walmart parking lot next to the street. There are two sheds or small buildings that there for donated items. Says it is for the police and Dare programs.
Hope this has nothing to do with our police department. Could cause more problems.
Does not say Mooresville PD and just wondering if Jaime could check and see if it is legal to put it there.Also WHO benefits from this.
September 22, 2008 12:08 PM
Anonymous said...
Probably something similar to this below, the bin can generate tens of thousands of dollars worth of second hand clothes per year sold at second hand stores, but the county DARE program will get 100 dollars per bin. National will only get 300, In Mooresville, if the bins are there it is probably less then the below amounts. I just hope the Mooresville Police are not the ones collecting the clothes on town time, the manpower cost alone would greatly exceed the 100 dollar value to the DARE Program.
Not very charitable if you ask me.
Calvert County commissioners agreed to a contract with Mid-Atlantic Clothing Recycling to help fund programs to prevent alcohol and drug abuse. The county previously had a contract with Planet Aid.
Unlike the former contract, which produced no revenue, Mid-Atlantic will pay $500 to the Drug Abuse Resistance Education program for each bin placed in the county. Of that amount, DARE America would receive $300, and the county and state DARE programs would each receive $100, said Terry Carlson, Calvert's public works director.
September 22, 2008 4:34 PM
By Donna Swicegood
Published: December 16, 2008
Clothing donation boxes set up at two Mooresville shopping centers indicate proceeds from the donations go to the D.A.R.E. program.
But the two agencies in Iredell County with a D.A.R.E. program — the Iredell County Sheriff's Office and Mooresville Police Department — said no money comes back to the local level.
Sheriff Phil Redmond said he's upset that people may put clothing in the boxes with the assumption some of the money collected for the clothing is used on the local level.
The boxes are located at the Consumer Square Shopping Center and Winslow Bay Shopping Center, both on N.C. Highway 150.
A large sign on the boxes indicates it is a clothing dropoff for D.A.R.E., and gives an 800 number. The 800 number is for D.A.R.E. America in California.
Redmond said Lt. Rick Eades contacted the organization, who then directed him to the owners of the boxes, Mid-Atlantic Clothing Recyclers in Maryland.
The clothing collected from the boxes is bundled and sold to third world countries.
Eades said he learned that Mid-Atlantic gives $500 per year per box from the proceeds of the sales to D.A.R.E. America.
A percentage goes back to North Carolina D.A.R.E., which indicated the money is divided between all of the counties in the state.
Pat Shay, a North Carolina D.A.R.E. representative, said the monies are used to offset the cost of training and conferences in the state.
However, Redmond said, Iredell hasn't seen any money from this effort.
"We've not had one D.A.R.E. officer in training in North Carolina in the last three years, because it hasn't been available. We've sent officers out-of-state to get the required training," he said.
Redmond further disputed the money is used, at least on a local level, for training or conferences.
"When we send officers for training or conferences, we pay for the conference or training fee, the motel room, meals and travel," he said.
Capt. Phil Blocker of the Mooresville Police Department also said that department doesn't receive funds from the donation boxes.
"We have not seen a penny in three years," he said.
Blocker said he did find out the department is eligible to receive $50 per bin if they've been there six months.
"We're going to put in a request and see what happens," he said.
Redmond called D.A.R.E. America's fundraising techniques deceptive.
"During the summer, we had calls from citizens about people standing in front of businesses selling D.A.R.E. shirts and other items," he said. "Our community does not see any return on those proceeds either. A small percentage goes to D.A.R.E. America in California and none comes back."
Redmond said any D.A.R.E. fundraising that benefits the local programs will include a local D.A.R.E. officer to explain the program and where the monies are used.
Officials worry these fundraising efforts will make people less willing to donate to D.A.R.E. at local events, feeling they have already donated.
Also, Redmond said, the clothing donations could be better used to aid Goodwill Industries, the Salvation Army and other local organizations.
Jaymie Eichon of Goodwill Industries said people sometimes assume the bins belong to Goodwill.
"People see these bins and say 'Oh, it's Goodwill," and think their donation is automatically going to Goodwill."
She said these bins and others like them do affect donations for Goodwill and local charitable organizations, especially with today's economic situation.
"Donations are down, and the need for services is up," she said.
Eichon encouraged anyone thinking of donating to find out where their money will go.
"All of our proceeds go to support programs here," she said.
Representatives of D.A.R.E. America did not return a phone call seeking comment.
Score another win for Jaime and the Gatton Report, looks like someone here spotted and explained this fraud back on Sept 22nd.
What and who else could he or she have been right about?
Things that make you go hmmm, huh
Merry Christmas Ms. Jaime
BIG BEN LOL
So Redmond is concerned about deception in someone else's collections process. I am sarcarstically impressed!
Here's the real amusing part about Redmond being confused. He has Eades looking into the matter. That's funny as hell since Eades was the one that Redmond said was looking after his campaign contributions. The same campaign contributions that turned up with contributors listed that never contributed. I'll be damned. Do you think this latest show of concern might possibly be a face saving tactic? Sounds similar to the article about the evidence room where Redmond said something about how their first class professional record keeping found some evidence missing and that the matter was handled. Yeah, okay.
What I wanna know is how's your former chief of police still walking around and how's he supporting his family? I've heard of hush money going a long way, but this is ridiculous!
Let's hope the first of the year brings a lot of change all over the county of Iredell.
Amen to that. You'd have to be a fool to try any hanky panky around here anymore anyway. But like my grandmother always used to say "there's never been a shortage of fools."
2:01... The problem is that some of our officials in too deep top back out now. They have done so much that a few more charges won't make any difference. They need to be gone.
January 2 has come and gone. I wonder when we find out what the audit showed?
When hell freezes over.
Anonymous said...12/28/07
<< What I wanna know is how's your former chief of police still walking around and how's he supporting his family? I've heard of hush money going a long way, but this is ridiculous! >>
You put the "ass" in dumb.
That's very original, Cherry Tricker. Actually I too would like to know just how Crone's still paying his bills considering he was dumped by the town for stealing from the poor and the needy. Maybe you can tell us since you're such a close friend of his.
Chirp chirp. My guess is that Crone was cleared and no one wants to admit it.
Anyone?
Anyone?
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