Feds once targeted Owens for public corruption

Frank Owens, who is once again seeking a seat on Mooresville's town board, was investigated by state and federal authorities for public corruption during his last term as town commissioner.

According to several current and former law-enforcement and public officials, all who asked their names to be withheld, Owens was first investigated by Alcohol Law Enforcement (ALE), in combination with the Mooresville Police Department (MPD), then the case was sent to the State Bureau of Investigation (SBI) and Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) in 2001.

The case apparently went before a federal grand jury either the day before or after the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on America. And that's where the story seems to end and speculation begins.

Owens is now challenging incumbent Mac Herring for the Ward 3 seat on Mooresville's town board. Election Day is Nov. 5.

State begins gambling probe

The public-corruption investigation began with ALE and the Mooresville Police Department in late summer 2001. The state agency asked for local assistance when it began investigating reports of illegal gambling at a bingo hut on Timber Road in Mooresville. Owens, a 30-year veteran of the Mooresville Police Department who retired as captain in 1996, was at the end of his first of two consecutive terms as an at-large town commissioner. He served from 1997 to 2005, when he lost his seat to Frank Rader. The seat is currently occupied by Rhett Dusenbury, who is being challenged this year by David Coble. 

Mooresville had a specialized unit that assisted ALE with the 2001 public-corruption investigation.

“There was legitimate bingo in one part of the building, but the back of the operation held real, poker-related gambling,” one officer recalled.

As part of their undercover operation, two ALE officers, driving an unmarked, white Mitsubishi Eclipse, made their way into the Timber Road bingo/gambling establishment. According to several accounts from people close to the investigation, Owens was inside the bingo hut when the undercover state agents walked in.

Owens apparently decided to use his connections as a high-ranking official to determine the identities of the undercover agents by calling the Mooresville Police Department with the Mitsubishi's license-plate tag number. He was connected to Dispatcher Sheila Caldwell, at which time he asked her whether the call was being recorded. Caldwell then switched him to a line that was not being recorded.

Owens asks dispatcher/officers to violate law

Within minutes, the Eclipse's tag number was run for the first of several times through the N.C. Division of Criminal Information (DCI). It is illegal to access systems such as DCI for purposes not specifically authorized in the law and by people who don't have specific authorization. As explained by one officer, all law enforcement personnel must acknowledge, via certification, that they understand it is illegal under state and federal law to use DCI for purposes other than law-enforcement business.

The Town of Mooresville, at the time, apparently did not have a policy regarding police officers running the plates of vehicles for non-law-enforcement people and purposes. That policy became effective on Sept. 18, 2001 – shortly after the ALE officers busted the gambling operation and a grand jury was convened – according to public records obtained by the Report. Still, say current and former law-enforcement personnel, officers and dispatchers knew that running tag numbers for non-law-enforcement personnel for non-law-enforcement purposes was illegal.

Mooresville police were almost immediately notified that the the license-plate number of the vehicle the ALE agents were driving had been run through DCI. “Since undercover tags are flagged, DMV (Division of Motor Vehicles) quickly alerted the police department to the tags being run,” recalled one officer.

Though Caldwell – who did not respond to e-mailed Report questions this week – provided Owens with the information he requested of her, in the hours after the initial time the tag was run, the then-commissioner also called on other law-enforcement officers to run the tag number. Those officers were later interviewed by the FBI and subpoenaed to testify to the federal grand jury.

Owens 'outs', chases state agents
Upon learning that the license-plate on the Mitsubishi Eclipse was registered to government agents, officers say that Owens, who was still inside the gambling establishment, outed the two ALE agents, verbally identifying them as “cops” to those who were present.

“It was almost as if Frank Owens was working security for the gambling house,” said one officer.

The two ALE officers, once identified, immediately exited the building and fled in the car registered to the town.

But Owens wasn't letting it go that easily, said sources in interviews with the Report. Instead, the then-commissioner trailed the ALE agents down NC 115 toward Davidson – sometimes at high rates of speed – until they finally made their way onto I-77. That's when Owens finally backed off.

Undercover Mooresville police officers witnessed the entire event, including the car chase. They were stationed along Timber Road in unmarked cars and were wearing transmitters, which provided constant communication with the ALE agents. The Mooresville officers followed Owens as he chased the ALE agents down NC 115.

Why didn't they pull Owens over, especially knowing what had just transpired and considering he was an easy target for speeding while chasing the agents? Simple, said one source close to the case: “They didn't want him to follow them back to the police department. They were trying to keep from having their cover blown.”

FBI launches public-corruption probe, federal grand jury convened

It wasn't until a follow-up visit to the Mooresville Police Department that the ALE agents positively identified the man who outed them as “cops” inside the gambling hall and then took it upon himself to chase them down NC 115. They were able to identify Owens in a photo of town commissioners hanging on a wall at the Mooresville Police Department.

The case was handed to the SBI to investigate. Considering the sheer number of people who helped Owens by calling in the tag number of the undercover vehicle, the case began to appear much more complex than a case of mere gambling. That's when the FBI became involved and started investigating a possible public corruption case: “I was contacted by the FBI and told they were investigating the corruption of a public official,” said one former law-enforcement officer who later became a federal witness.

At least two Report sources say they were interviewed by FBI agents.

“I told them the truth: Owens asked me to run the license plate," said one source. "There was no rule in place for us not to do that. Owens told me it was on a suspicious vehicle parked at BJ's (where he worked at the time); I had no idea it was an ALE agent that was monitoring the gambling house. If he did that, shame on him.”

The late Capt. Leon White, a loyal friend of Owens', apparently told federal authorities the same story about the tag being on a suspicious vehicle at BJ's.

“Obviously, they had gotten their story straight,” said one former officer. “So the FBI just decided to put the case in front of a grand jury and let them offer that lie there, with no lawyers present.”

Said another: “I testified in front of the grand jury. I told the truth because it was the right thing to do.” However, he said, “The FBI is very secretive. They didn't share any information with me.”

The case stops
The grand jury was convened, and the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks occurred at the same time. That's where the story essentially stops. Any information after that is speculative at best:

“After 9-11, it was clear they weren't going to follow up,” said one source. “I was a federal witness, and they never called me back. They said the reason they didn't continue with the case is because the gambling never met the threshold; the house didn't make enough money to make it a federal crime.”

Other law-enforcement personnel say while federal officials may have suggested that the dollar-amount was the reason for dropping or closing the case, it wouldn't have likely been the actual cause. “When it comes to public corruption,” said one source, a dollar-amount made at the gambling house would not matter. The fact that a commissioner would be involved in illegal activity and then interject himself in a criminal investigation “undermines people's trust in government,” he said. And that would have been more pressing to law-enforcement investigating public corruption than a specific dollar amount made at a gambling house.

After all, said one former officer, gambling was just “an instrument” of the bigger public-corruption case.

A former federal official said it is plausible that federal authorities dropped the case because the amount of money did not meet a threshold for white-collar fraud and embezzlement or criminal enterprise. “With too few federal representatives, the bigger players – the more sexy cases – were going to get the action,” he said. “The dollar amount (made at the gambling house) would be a legitimate consideration in making the determination” of whether to pursue the public-corruption case.

But he said it is more likely that the public-corruption case was no longer pursued because of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. “There was a wholesale realignment of investigative priorities” after 9-11, he said.

Before the terrorist attacks, the FBI had “investigative priorities, and terror and counterterrorism weren't even on the list,” he said. “Federal agencies were turned on their head because of September 11th.”

What was happening in Mooresville, he said, “could have been a federal crime, but the concept is you go after the bigger fish. It's piranhas versus sharks.”

One of several sources speculated that perhaps federal authorities did not have a strong enough case against Owens. “I don't know if the FBI couldn't put all the pieces together for a federal case or what. I feel if (the grand jury) thought they could have indicted him, they would have. I think it just stopped at the grand jury, and (the FBI) didn't present a strong enough case.”

However, he said, “They (FBI agents) are secretive. They don't share information. They wouldn't tell why it stopped.”

'Systematic retaliation' and unanswered questions

No matter the reason for the case being “dropped” or “closed” or “stopped” – and despite the lingering question of why the state didn't pick the case back up when the federal government's attention was directed elsewhere – the fact that the case was not followed through meant local officers involved in exposing and investigating the gambling house suddenly became sitting ducks. The top brass at the police department, including then-Police Chief John Crone, had been largely kept in the dark about the state's investigation. And the target of their probe – a town commissioner in part responsible for overseeing the operation of the government, including the police department – had been investigated by the FBI, and his friends had been forced to testify in front of a federal grand jury, yet he was clearly not being held accountable. Owens was free to move on with his life – and, if he wished, to make things very uncomfortable for police-department employees who participated in the investigation.

At the police department, the specialized unit that worked with the ALE agents was immediately disbanded.

“They started systematically getting rid of people and demoting people after the FBI called off the investigation,” one former officer said. “It was systematic retaliation.”

One source said Owens approached Crone, telling him to terminate at least one of the officers involved. The Report asked Owens about that in an e-mail of questions sent on Oct. 16 and 17 to three different e-mail addresses he owns. To date, Owens has not responded to any of the questions.

We asked Owens to point out any discrepancies or possible misinformation in the detailed accounts provided by Report sources. He did not respond.

We asked him: if the police dispatcher had already provided him with the information he was seeking on the tag, why did he ask several other people to run the tag, too? Owens did not respond.

We asked Owens if he has ever been involved in illegal gambling in Mooresville and, if so, if he was involved while he was a police officer and/or a town commissioner. He did not respond.

We asked him if he was ever interviewed by the FBI while it was investigating him for public corruption. Owens did not respond.

We have offered, in another e-mail, to post his response(s) if he ever changes his mind.

Stealing campaign signs is no joke

No election season would be complete without a story (or five) on missing campaign signs.

But this one has a slightly different ending than most.

On Wednesday, Mac Herring - who is hoping to retain his Ward 3 seat against challenger Frank Owens - notified media and filed a complaint with the Iredell County Sheriff's Office after noticing several of his signs and a $100+ banner were stolen overnight from private property. Herring said many of his signs have been stolen from yards during the campaign season, but the last straw was his banner being taken from private county property fewer than 24 hours after he had put it up.

Herring said many signs of David Coble, who is challenging Commissioner Rhett Dusenbury for his at-large seat, were also stolen Tuesday night.

A day later, some of the missing signs - and Herring's banner - were found in the back of a pickup truck at a home on West Center Avenue. But this picture was apparently snapped beforehand:

Campaign and church barbecue signs, along with orange construction cones, litter the yard of this West Center Avenue home on Thursday morning. Two sofas were also hoisted into a toilet-papered tree. (Photo courtesy of Facebook)

Signs belonging to Herring, Coble, Owens, Dusenbury and Mayor Miles Atkins were apparently stolen to pull off a prank. 

What the pranksters may not have known is that stealing campaign signs is actually no joke. Citing N.C. General Statute 136-32(e), Mooresville Police Capt. Joe Cooke said, instead, "it is Class 3 misdemeanor for a person to steal, deface, vandalize or unlawfully remove a political sign that is lawfully placed ..." 

Cooke said both the Mooresville Police Department and Iredell County Sheriff's Office have opened investigations into the larceny.

For more on this story, click here: Mooresville Weekly or here: Mooresville Tribune.

Stranger Danger: tips to keep your children safe

Social media is abuzz today after an apparent attempted kidnapping of a 15-year-old Mooresville girl from the subdivision in which she lives.

Neighbors report that an older man in a van “grabbed” the girl yesterday at the entrance of Glynwater subdivision, across from Mooresville Municipal Golf Course. They say the girl got away. But so did her assailant. For more information, click here.

With this incident occurring on the heels of another attempted child abduction at Mooresville's Walmart just last month, area parents are naturally on edge.

To help safeguard your children from potential predators, Mooresville Police Maj. Ron Chilton says parents need to teach young people about “stranger danger.”

“While strangers may mean no harm,” Chilton says, “children need to be taught to let their parents know when a stranger is around.” He says the adult can then assess the risk.

“Parents should make sure they know where their children are at all times - this includes at home, in their neighborhoods, in a local store, or away on vacation,” he adds.

In the event a young person finds themselves in a situation of potential abduction, Chilton says, they need to draw as much attention as possible to attract help. “This might include yelling, screaming, kicking, hitting, biting or whatever they can do to draw attention to the situation” and let people know that “something isn't right.”

Bob Mangan, owner of Mangan Martial Arts Academy on Main Street in Mooresville, has spent many years as a passionate proponent of teaching self-defense techniques to children and adults. Mangan says every child should be taught how to respond in the event s/he is ever confronted by a predator.

Interestingly, one of his first tips is: do not scream “Help!” 

That word, Mangan says, is used too often by kids when they are horsing around with their peers and parents. Instead, parents should teach their children to scream, “This is not my father/mother! I don't know this person!”

“Yelling, 'Fire!' is also a good one, because it brings attention to the situation,” Mangan says, adding that the child should be taught to drop to the ground, kicking and screaming, if it is possible in the situation.

If standing, “Put yourself in a defensive posture, with your hands up, almost in a pushing motion (fighting stance),” Mangan says. “Start yelling, 'Stop! Stop! Get back! Get back!'”

“Your voice” says Mangan, “is a very powerful weapon.”

But even more powerful, he says, is awareness: “Awareness is your number-one self-defense technique.”

He offers the following tips on how NOT to become a target:

1. Don't talk on a cell phone while walking in a parking lot.
2. Don't have ear buds in if walking, running or sitting in a public place.
3. Don't travel alone.

“Predators like easy prey,” Mangan says. “The lion chases the zebras, and the one it kills is the one that stays away from the herd.”

Chilton encourages families to download the app Life360 on smartphones. “This program can allow parents to find out where their children are in real time (as long as they have the phone with them),” he says. “The program may require the phone to have GPS capability.”

For more information on self-defense techniques or courses offered by Mangan Martial Arts, please visit www.manganmaa.com or call Mangan at 704-799-3645.

Police investigating possible attempted kidnapping

Mooresville police are investigating what appears to be an attempted kidnapping in a residential neighborhood.

According to a neighbor's post on Facebook, a girl – who police say is 15 years old – was “grabbed” at the front entrance to Glynwater subdivision, across from Mooresville Municipal Golf Course, yesterday afternoon. Neighbors say the girl is okay, but the man who tried to kidnap her was not caught.

The Facebook post on the “Glynwater residents” group says the man “is an older man driving a red van with wood paneling with out-of-state plates” and that “police say he has been trolling (Glynwater) neighborhood and adjacent ones.”

Mooresville Police Maj. Ron Chilton confirms the police department is investigating, but he says he cannot confirm the remainder of the information in the posting.

He also says this apparent attempted kidnapping is not connected to last month's attempted child abduction at Mooresville's Walmart.  

Cops kicked out of local restaurant; owner later apologizes

The owner of Isy Bell's restaurant has issued a Facebook apology for apparently kicking three Mooresville police detectives out of his establishment during lunch yesterday.

“I am deeply sorry for the words that I spoke,” reads a statement that Owner Mike Kabouris posted on Isy Bells' Facebook page earlier this afternoon. “I welcome all detectives and officers into my establishment. The world needs more people like you to protect our community.”

Calling the incident a “misunderstanding,” Kabouris' statement continued: “Isy Bell's Cafe welcomes all law enforcement and has the utmost respect for you.”

But apparently, officers haven't felt welcomed or respected by Kabouris for quite some time. Of yesterday's incident, Mooresville Police Chief Carl Robbins said: “I don't know the story behind his reasoning, but I have known for a long time that he does not care for us.”

While the detectives themselves aren't speaking officially about what happened, Facebook has been abuzz the past 24 hours with statuses and messages about yesterday's incident, some of them speculating that Kabouris is angry at local law-enforcement officers because of the September arrest of his son for speeding to elude arrest.

Kabouris wasn't available for comment at Isy Bell's this afternoon.

“In all fairness to him,” said Robbins, “I don't know if his displeasure is directed toward all law enforcement or just the Mooresville Police Department.”

Robbins said police officers must understand that “some people will not like us as law-enforcement officers for a variety of reasons.” However, he said, “We have to accept this and continue to treat everyone with respect and fairness.

“As a business owner, (Kabouris) can make decisions that we may not agree with, but we need to respect them and stay above the fray as professional police officers.”

Robbins said Kabouris has not called him to complain or to ban officers from Isy Bell's in general.

Family fun in downtown Mooresville tonight

Join the Mooresville Police Department today as it hosts "National Night Out," an organized event that aims to unite neighborhoods, law enforcement agencies, civic groups, businesses and local officials in the fight against crime. 

Main Street will close to traffic between Moore and Iredell avenues between 5-9 p.m. tonight. The free event, centered in front of the Charles Mack Citizens Center, will feature free food, games and giveaways, face painting, children identification kits, martial-arts demonstrations by Mangan Martial Arts and more. 

If you can't make it downtown, the police department asks that you turn on your porch lights and/or enjoy some time outdoors with your neighbors to show your support for a crime-free community. 

SBI misconduct may not be limited to crime lab

The ongoing revelations of the N.C. State Bureau of Investigations' questionable (and possibly criminal) conduct should come as no surprise to Mooresville.

As an area that has been rocked by one scandal after another, prompting the SBI to visit several times in the past eight years – then in most cases waiting, to no avail, for the results – the Town of Mooresville is no stranger to the SBI sweeping cases under the rug.

Attorney General Roy Cooper recently ordered an independent review of the SBI's crime lab. The results, released late last week, were damning, revealing that the SBI “withheld or distorted evidence in more than 200 cases at the expense of potentially innocent men and women” (http://%28http//www.newsobserver.com/2010/08/19/635632/scathing-sbi-audit-says-230-cases.html#ixzz0x52LRIZc%29.).

Countless lives have clearly been sabotaged by the very “investigators” who are supposed to be protecting the public's interest. Of the cases that must now be reviewed, three of the defendants have already been executed. Five have died in prison. And 80 are still serving sentences – four of whom are on death row.

On the other hand, it's only natural to speculate that despite botched evidence and investigations, prosecutors perhaps tried and convicted the true criminal. But because of the crime lab's questionable lab practices, those cases now have a real chance of being appealed and overturned, potentially leading to the early release of violent criminals back into society.

After all is said and done, the taxpayers will pay a hefty price. And the cost is sure to be enormous.

But with the exposure of the SBI's misconduct, we have identified only a symptom of the real disease plaguing the bureau and thus our state: the absence of open, honest, accountable practices within the agency and our government itself.

The SBI blood analysts, arguably, are not incompetent. They didn't withhold information, or fall down on their duties, because they are stupid. At least we should hope not. The only way those agents were able to get away with their misconduct is because someone else has allowed, or endorsed, it to happen.

The SBI serves under a director – until recently, Robin Pendergraft. That director is appointed by the Attorney General, an elected position. What's more, the SBI crime lab – as indicated by the Raleigh News & Observer – is charged with using science to prove cases built by district attorneys, also elected positions.

In this sort of arrangement, if one person – just one – is corrupt, or chooses to turn a blind-eye to corruption, the entire judicial system crumbles, and the people left to suffer are the very ones the system was created to protect and serve. Essentially, people’s freedom – their lives – are caught in the crosshairs of law enforcement and politics. And it appears as though the SBI has somehow been ordained to decide if a person is worthy of their freedom. And only after that determination is made will the agents use “science” to fit it.

Even in the midst of public humiliation, politics and favoritism are apparently still at work among the bureau's ranks. Even while the attorney general, Roy Cooper, removed Pendergraft from her position as SBI director – moving her to another unit with no change in pay – he praised her work as the bureau's director, saying, as reported by the News & Observer: “'I think Robin has done an excellent job at the SBI.'”

The problem is clearly deep-rooted in the political structure. And perhaps the most unsettling question is this: if it has been this easy for SBI agents to botch life-and-death cases, just how easy has it been for them to ignore cases of public corruption?

In Mooresville, we're in a unique position – perhaps more so than any other city in North Carolina – to help shed some light on that.

A brief review:

• In 2002, the SBI was called in to Mooresville after a private citizen, earlier in 2001, brought to light financial inconsistencies at the Mooresville Public Library. Town officials allowed the town librarian to resign and she later pleaded guilty to felony embezzlement. Though the SBI was supposedly called in to review the matter, the public, seven years later, has not been informed of the review's outcome.
• Three years later, in 2005, the SBI was called in after yet another private citizen conducted his own well-documented financial investigation of the Mooresville Golf Course which revealed a substantial loss of inventory, and perhaps cash, from the golf course pro shop. The citizens' efforts prompted town officials to call for an outside audit of the golf course, which showed thousands of dollars in merchandise missing from the pro shop. The SBI was called in to investigate, but five years later, the public has not been informed of the outcome of that investigation, either.
• In 2008, the SBI was called in to investigate former Mooresville Police Chief John Crone's Cops for Kids program. Once again, private citizens conducted their own investigation of the program and uncovered, among other questionable items, a receipt for a deposit of $361 in “loose change” from the evidence room into the Cops for Kids account. One month later, the town fired the police chief and called in the SBI. But it took two years – and a new Iredell County District Attorney – before the public would hear anything about that investigation. Crone has been indicted and his next court appearance is scheduled for Nov. 8. Town commissioners, from the beginning, expressed skepticism about involving the SBI, citing their lack of confidence in the agency conducting a thorough, timely review. And in fact, when the initial SBI report was complete, town officials said the bureau indicated in its report that it had nothing on which to follow up. At the same time, however, Sarah Kirkman – who was elected Iredell's new district attorney at the same time the Cops for Kids story was breaking – told the Report in February that while she had received a copy of the SBI's report, she still had questions for the investigating agent. Only after that were charges produced by the SBI's “investigation.”

Interestingly, however, when Crone himself called the SBI to Mooresville in November 2002 to investigate $4 of missing money from the police department's evidence room, the SBI moved quickly. The Mooresville Tribune first reported on Nov. 6, 2002 that Crone had called in the SBI. Within seven months, the SBI had investigated the matter, a grand jury had indicted the former evidence-room custodian, and the custodian had pleaded guilty to embezzlement. It took seven months, start to finish, for the case to be opened and closed when the police chief called in the SBI. But when the town called the bureau in to investigate that same police chief for misappropriating $361 of money from the evidence-room – as opposed to the custodian's $4 - it took two years and a new DA for the SBI to produce results.

Such inconsistencies beg the question: Is it less about what you know, and more about who you know, when dealing with the SBI? Does the SBI use selective leniency and favoritism depending on a person's political influence and/or his or her perceived community status?

Unfortunately, we may never know the answers to those questions.

But thanks to the tireless efforts of a few dogged reporters in Raleigh, what we do know is that the SBI has at least been consistent the past decade. Whether “investigating” violent criminals or public corruption, the agency has demonstrated – consistently – laziness, incompetence, neglect or, worse yet, corruption … and perhaps a combination of them all.

Unfortunately, long before the Raleigh News & Observer began asking questions – and long before Cooper ordered an audit of the SBI crime lab – the people of Mooresville had learned to distrust the SBI, an agency they used to rely on as being legitimate, credible and trustworthy.

While people in this community worked courageously and tirelessly to uncover and expose corruption, the SBI repeatedly dragged its feet and used its authority to employ delay tactics and provide loopholes for those who enjoyed membership in the dwindling political patronage system of Mooresville.

The SBI’s stubborn refusal to do its job in Mooresville led to a community unnecessarily divided and polarized. The intangible harm that resulted from this monumental failure will be difficult, if not impossible, to measure.

While these new revelations about the SBI confirm the long-standing suspicions held by many in Mooresville, this is nothing to celebrate. The truth has now been exposed that the largest investigative agency in this state has dropped the ball on some 200 criminal cases. What remains unknown is how many public-corruption cases the agency has approached and treated with the same careless and reckless attitude.

Former top cop turns himself in; released on bond

Former Mooresville Police Chief John Crone turned himself in earlier today to the Iredell County jail and has since been released on a $5,000 secured bond.

Crone was indicted last month by a state grand jury (http://thegattonreport.blogspot.com/2010/05/crone-indicted.html). He is charged with two counts of embezzlement by a public official and one count of obstructing justice.

More details as they become available...

Crone indicted

Former Mooresville Police Chief John Crone has been indicted by a state grand jury, the Report has learned from a number of sources this week.

The charges are unknown at this time because the indictment was apparently ordered sealed. That means the charges will not be public record until the indictment is served.

Nearly two years have passed since questions were first posted here about Crone’s Cops for Kids organization (http://thegattonreport.blogspot.com/2008/06/what-is-cops-for-kids.html). Within a week after the Report and The Mooresville Tribune exposed questions about, and discrepancies in, the Cops for Kids financial records – including a $361 deposit of “loose change from the evidence room” into the Cops for Kids account – the Town of Mooresville asked the DA's Office to bring in the SBI to investigate. And within the month, Crone was suspended, then fired.

Three months ago, District Attorney Sarah Kirkman confirmed that the SBI’s probe was complete but said she still had questions for the investigating agent (http://thegattonreport.blogspot.com/2010/02/sbis-cops-for-kids-probe-complete-da.html).

It’s clear those questions have been answered.

What is not as clear is why the indictment issued early this week was sealed, and why it apparently hasn’t yet been served. Current and former members of the law-enforcement community indicated to the Report this week that it’s common practice for the judicial system to allow current/former government officials – and even some private citizens – to turn themselves in, as opposed to being shamed by an official serving of an indictment.

The Iredell County Sheriff’s Office will reportedly be responsible for serving the indictment.

We’ll keep you posted as more information becomes available.

SBI's Cops for Kids probe complete - DA says she still has questions

The State Bureau of Investigation has completed its probe into former Mooresville police chief John Crone's Cops for Kids program. But Iredell County's District Attorney says she still has questions for the SBI.

"I finally received the official SBI report in January and still have questions for the investigating agent," said District Attorney Sarah Kirkman, responding to Gatton Report questions from home, less than a week after giving birth to a daughter.

Kirkman said she will not turn over the SBI results to the Town of Mooresville. "However," she said, "if they want to see the report, they can go through legal counsel with the SBI.

"As for turning over the results to the public," Kirkman added, "I will not do that, as it is still a pending investigation at this time."

Even government grows tired of waiting on government

It's been nearly a year since Mooresville fired its police chief, John Crone, and called in the SBI to investigate his Cops for Kids program.

This week, Town Manager Steve Husemann – who was hired after the Cops for Kids scandal broke last July – promoted Carl Robbins to chief of police. Robbins has served as interim chief since Crone was fired in August.

But while one chapter of the story is now closed, the end is still nowhere in sight.

“We have not received results nor a time table from (the) SBI,” Husemann said this week, responding to Report questions. “The timing of (Robbins’ promotion) has nothing to do with (the) SBI.”

Shortly after Husemann came on board as Mooresville’s town manager in September, he indicated that he wanted to wait for the completion of the SBI investigation before hiring Crone's replacement.

He said this week, however, "I have changed my mind since last December because of the amount of time it is taking for the SBI to conduct its investigation.

"I admitted last December that awaiting the SBI report was somewhat of an excuse to give me time to get a better knowledge of (the Mooresville Police Department), its personnel and issues," he added. "I’ve had nine months now to observe Carl Robbins and the department. I saw no further need, nor advantage in awaiting an SBI report.

"It is time to move forward now and give Chief Robbins full support to manage the department."

It seems Husemann has caught on to what many of us have known for years: waiting on tangible results from the SBI, at least in Mooresville, is like waiting on the Great Pumpkin.

Still, when asked this week if the town would release to the public the results of the forensic audits into Cops for Kids – which were funded by taxpayer dollars and have been concluded for some time – Husemann responded: “This will continue to await the SBI.”

And when asked if the town has reimbursed the federal government for the asset-forfeiture funds that were spent inappropriately by the former police chief and his Cops for Kids program (see http://thegattonreport.blogspot.com/2009/01/feds-to-town-pay-up.html) – and if so, out of what fund the town paid the reimbursement – Husemann responded: “There appears to be a wrong impression about what this is all about.”

While the U.S. Department of Justice “directed the town to reimburse the federal drug funds used for (the) Cops for Kids program,” he said, “this does not require that a check be written and sent to Washington.”

Instead, "It merely requires a re-appropriation to replace drug fund moneys used for Cops for Kids with general fund money while the drug fund money is applied to a clearly permitted use," Husemann said. “Staff will ask that this be done with late FY2009 budget adjustments."

Feds to Town: Pay up.

The U.S. Department of Justice has told the Town of Mooresville and its police department to repay $4,862 in asset forfeiture funds that former Police Chief John Crone used to pay airfare costs for a Mayor’s Youth Council trip to New York City.

Also, the town received the results of its outside forensic audits into Crone's Cops for Kids program today - more than six months after commissioners ordered the probes. The audit results will not be released until the State Bureau of Investigation has reviewed them and determined that their release will not compromise the state's ongoing criminal investigation.

In an e-mail to commissioners today, Town Manager Steve Husemann said that the town recently received a letter from the Department of Justice, "asking the town and MPD ... to reimburse (the local asset forfeiture) account and provide (the Deparment of Justice) with confirmation of said repayment.

"This really does not have a financial impact on the town," Husemann said. "Drug Forfeiture funds can be used only for certain purposes, and we will pick a clearly eligible purpose to fund with this money."

Husemann also said that the town has requested that Crone write a check for the entire amount from the Cops for Kids bank account.

For the complete story on Crone's use of the federal money, click here: http://thegattonreport.blogspot.com/2008/09/former-police-chief-violated-federal.html

Husemann, in today's e-mail, said that town staff "had been waiting to announce the Department of Justice request with the results of the accounting study." However, he said, "we just received the accounting study today."

Husemann said he decided to release the information about the federal request when the Mooresville Tribune asked for an update on the Cops for Kids situation. "I don't want to withhold any information," said Husemann, adding, however, that "we do not plan to release the accounting study until the SBI determines that it has no relevance to their investigation and until (Town Attorney) Steve Gambill determines that any personnel information is redacted."

Continued Husemann: "We have no desire to hold up the release any longer than we have to. I have not yet seen the accounting report and have made this decision without knowing the content."

Cops for Kids audit report expected soon

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."

Cops for Kids: No New News

It's been almost four months since various investigations were launched into former police chief John Crone's Cops for Kids program. But as of yesterday, there’s “no new news” on any of them.

The N.C. Secretary of State’s Office said on July 8 that it was investigating an inquiry into Cops for Kids’ “charitable solicitation license.” (See http://thegattonreport.blogspot.com/2008/07/nc-secretary-of-state-investigating.html)

According to the Secretary of State’s website, any corporation or entity that solicits charitable contributions must apply for and obtain a license every year. Some organizations are exempt from the license, but it is unclear if Cops for Kids met the exemption requirements.

This week, George Jeter, director of communications with the Secretary of State’s Office, said, “So far, I don’t have anything.”

When asked how long it typically takes for the state to determine if an organization possessed a charitable solicitation license, or if it was exempt from the requirement, Jeter said: “I don’t know what they’re waiting to see. That’s not up to me to say.”

And it appears there’s at least a chance that the public may never know the results of the state’s probe. Sometimes the state just “keeps a watch on it,” said Jeter. And in those cases, “We don’t ever really say, ‘We’re done with that.’”

Meanwhile, Town Attorney Steve Gambill said there’s “nothing new regarding the internal employee investigation” being led by former FBI agent Ken Andrews.

Last month, town staff said that the N.C. State Bureau of Investigation had asked Andrews to stop his interviews of certain people so that the SBI could interview them. Gambill said yesterday that “Mr. Andrews has not resumed his interviews” but that he “will do so once he receives approval from the SBI.”

Gambill said that he has not received any updates from the SBI regarding its investigation into Cops for Kids.

The town’s director of administration and finance, Maia Setzer, said that she had spoken briefly with the SBI agent yesterday but that he “did not indicate what he was working on or a timetable.”

Setzer said the second accounting firm, which the town hired to corroborate the findings of the first forensic audit of Cops for Kids’ financial records, has started its work. But she said she has not been given a timeline on how long it might take for the firm to complete the audit.

Town Manager Steve Husemann said this week that he’s in no hurry to hire a replacement for Crone, who the town fired in August. “I’ve had some conversations about the position, but that is about the extent of it,” said Husemann.

He explained: “I think that Major (Carl) Robbins is doing a good job in an interim capacity, so I (have) not made filling the position a high priority.”

Husemann, who began work here on Sept. 2, added: “As I have more time to observe the department, the community and the personnel involved, it will help me make a better decision about both the process that we need to follow and the person to be selected.”

Crone has filed a grievance over his firing with the Town of Mooresville. But the details are not public record, per state statutes protecting confidential personnel information.

You're invited ...

Have a question you’d like to ask Mooresville's town board? Here’s your chance:

"Citizens for Responsible Government" has invited Mooresville commissioners to join area residents in a “Town Hall meeting” on Wednesday, Oct. 15, from 6-8:30 p.m. in the youth services room of the Mooresville Public Library.

Local pastor Larry Green -- founder of Citizens for Responsible Government -- organized the Town Hall meeting and plans to moderate the event. In addition to general topics "related to the welfare and leadership of our town," Green said, specific topics up for discussion will include Cops for Kids; the town’s hiring of engineering firm CH2M Hill for the expansion of the Rocky River Wastewater Treatment Plant; the town’s purchase of the bankrupt Adelphia cable system (MI-Connection) and a potential recall option.

Of Mooresville’s six commissioners, three have responded to Green’s invitation. Commissioners Chris Carney and Miles Atkins said they plan to attend, while Commissioner Mitch Abraham said he has a conflict that night with another previously scheduled meeting. Additionally, Abraham said he has “church committments (sic) on Wednesday evenings.”

However, he told Green: “If I am able to move the other meeting, I will notify you of my intentions.”

Referencing the open meetings law, Abraham said, “I will also yield to the other commissioners for the reason that if 3 or more of us are gathered at the same place for purposes other than social, it may be considered an official meeting and I believe that may involve town staff be involved for record keeping purposes.” Abraham referred Green to Town Attorney Steve Gambill for a “ruling.”

Carney, responding to Green’s invitation, wrote: “I will be happy to attend and look forward to answering questions from the citizens of Mooresville.

“Also,” Carney added, “I welcome the opportunity to explain any decisions I have made or my position on existing issues facing Mooresville.”

If you have a question you'd like to ask, you can submit it in advance by contacting Green at 704-746-8674 or by e-mailing it to him at admin@cfrgm.org.

Event organizers will consolidate the questions into “thematic units,” said Green, “ to avoid repetition and to promote as much public involvement as possible.”

Green plans to follow a meeting agenda, which includes three-minute statements from each commissioner and a moderator-controlled Q&A session using your previously submitted questions. Commissioners, said Green, will have one minute to respond to each question. If time permits, Green said he will allow questions from the floor, with first priority given to those who did not previously submit questions. Those in attendance who did previously submit questions will be limited to one “open-floor” question, he said.

Green said a video of the Town Hall meeting – as well as the text of all responses – will be made available online at http://www.cfrgm.org/.

Crone's grievance and the town's personnel policy

The Town of Mooresville’s personnel policy allows for an employee to file a grievance within 14 calendar days of disciplinary action.

The Mooresville Tribune reported today that the town’s former police chief, John Crone, has filed a grievance with the Town of Mooresville over his firing on Aug. 7. (http://mooresvilletribune.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=MOT/MGArticle/MOT_BasicArticle&c=MGArticle&cid=1173356123573)

Though some readers have expressed concerns since the news was posted earlier today – with many of them wondering why Crone apparently received 50 calendar days to file his grievance – the question that must first be answered is this: when did Crone first file the grievance?

Citing personnel statutes, Town Attorney Steve Gambill declined to say today, explaining: “My inclination is that such information is part of the grievance itself and by implication, part of the personnel file.

“I am trying to avoid the proverbial ‘splitting of hairs,’” Gambill added, “but I don’t know of any other way to interpret the personnel law statute (GS 160A-168) other than to lean this way.”

But what we do know is this: For the town to accept the grievance in accordance with its own personnel policy, Crone would have had to file his grievance with Assistant Town Manager Erskine Smith (who was interim town manager until Sept. 2) by Aug. 21.

Smith had 14 days to respond to the grievance. And apparently Crone was not satisfied with Smith’s response, so he appealed to Mooresville’s new town manager, Steve Husemann.

Gambill explains:

“Article X, Section 4 of the Personnel Policy sets out three steps in the grievance process:

“In Step 1,” Gambill said, “an employee has 14 days from the time of the employment action to file the grievance. The employee’s supervisor then has 14 days to respond after receiving the grievance.

“In Step 2,” Gambill continued, “if the grievance is not resolved to the employee’s satisfaction in Step 1, the employee may appeal to the next level supervisor within 14 days after receiving the response in Step 1. This supervisor then has 14 days to respond."

Finally, Gambill said, “In Step 3, if the grievance is not resolved to the satisfaction of the employee at the end of Step 2, the employee may appeal in writing within 14 days to the Town Manager or Assistant Town Manager, according to whom they report to.”

Gambill went on to put those steps into perspective concerning Crone: “He had 14 days after his termination to file a grievance to Mr. Smith who issued the termination. Mr. Smith then had 14 days after receiving it to respond.

“Mr. Crone then had 14 days after receipt of Mr. Smith’s response to appeal to the Town Manager,” Gambill said, adding, “The Town Manager then has 14 days to respond to Mr. Crone."

While Gambill did not say when Crone’s original grievance was filed, he did say that employees must “follow the steps outlined in the policy” and that “one step is completed before the next step is initiated.”

Former chief files grievance over firing

Click the link below to view the entire article from the Mooresville Tribune online ..

http://mooresvilletribune.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=MOT/MGArticle/MOT_BasicArticle&c=MGArticle&cid=1173356123573

Commissioners left in the dark this time, too

No doubt, I have criticized Mooresville commissioners many times in the past for conducting the peoples’ business behind closed doors – for their seeming unwillingness to be open and honest with the public, their constituents, about issues of importance to us.

But maybe sometimes it isn’t because the commissioners refuse to be open and honest with us – maybe it’s because they themselves are left in the dark when town staff isn’t providing pertinent information to them.

At least one commissioner has had to repeatedly demand updates on the ongoing Cops for Kids investigations that the town launched in July. Despite that, as recently as last week, commissioners were caught off guard by a new development in the Cops for Kids investigations that, come to find out, isn’t really so new.

Two Town Hall finance administrators have been aware since July of the former police chief’s potential misuse of drug asset forfeiture funds, but they didn't see fit to inform commissioners about it until last week – and only after the Report visited Town Hall to retrieve documents related to the matter.

Town Finance Director Maia Setzer said today that she, along with Town Accountant Deborah Hockett and Acting Police Chief Carl Robbins, notified an SBI agent on July 31 about the issue.

Town Attorney Steve Gambill said the U.S. Attorney’s office was notified on Thursday, Sept. 18, about former police chief John Crone’s potential misappropriation of federal funds. “Other than what was in the press release,” Gambill said, “I am not at liberty to discuss it beyond that point. If there is a point when I can discuss this in more detail I will be glad to but I cannot do so at present.”

Commissioners Mitch Abraham said he first learned about the potential problem with the drug asset forfeiture accounts on Wednesday afternoon, Sept. 17, when Setzer sent the following e-mail to commissioners (click the document to enlarge):


“The last sentence,” said Abraham, “was when I first heard of any discrepancies or had any ideas of the drug asset forfeiture monies being involved in any of the investigations.

“Besides being told of the upcoming release to the media on this past Friday,” Abraham added, “I have not talked with any staff about these discrepancies.”

In an e-mail on Sept. 18, obtained by the Mooresville Tribune and the Report in a public-records request last week, Commissioner Miles Atkins asked Setzer when she first became aware of the discrepancies. He also asked “who else has known about this prior to the board being made aware of it” – and how long they have known.

Setzer responded: “I began comparing the spreadsheet to our financial system when I received a full copy from the police department on Monday and after Ms. Gatton asked where she could obtain information about the asset forfeiture accounts.

“I asked Deborah Hockett to help me with the comparison of the two files on Tuesday afternoon,” Setzer said. “I notified the town manager and town attorney of the discrepancies we were continuing to find on Wednesday.”

She told Atkins that “any employee can maintain any type of a spreadsheet. The fact that it is maintained does not make it factual or ‘official’. Departments have maintained their own financial information for years as they did not have access to our financial system until we began the implementation of Munis.”

Setzer did not answer Atkins’ question about who knew about the issue – and for how long – before the town board was informed.

Commissioners Frank Rader and Miles Atkins said they learned of the problem mid-week last week – “apparently right after you left (Setzer's) office with the records (on Wednesday),” said Atkins, responding to Report questions today.

Commissioners Mac Herring and Chris Carney were informed by Gambill about the matter late Tuesday night, Sept. 16.

Carney said he had “lengthy conversations with staff” on Wednesday and Thursday “trying to understand exactly what had happened and encouraging us (the town) to be completely honest with any misappropriations that had been found.”

Abraham and Herring commended Town Manager Steve Husemann – who began work here on Sept. 2 – for what Herring called his “proactive approach.”

“He was immediately forthcoming and made the appropriate request to the outside agencies who needed to be involved,” Herring said. “His press release indicates that a new era for a transparent and more openly honest municipal administration has finally arrived here in Mooresville.

“I believe this is the tone being set,” Herring added, “and as a result, many of the concerns and ‘hunker down’ mentality that has plagued us in the past will soon be greatly diminished. It is a new and exciting time for us here in Mooresville, and I am proud to be a part of it.”

Likewise, Abraham said: “Mr. Husemann’s comments in Friday’s media release give me great hope that we will use these negatives in the process to produce a positive result to better the system and make sure that this does not happen in the future in any of our departments.”

Abraham said he feels confident that with the town’s reporting of the potential misappropriations to the U.S. Attorney, “these documents will be well researched for any further misgivings and wrongdoings and then reported to us and the citizens of Mooresville.”

Abraham said the town must continue to look for the investigations to answer many of the unanswered questions. “These investigations must continue, no matter what length of time they take to be complete, so as to be complete and as thorough as possible.

“This does not mean I personally like the amount of time that it is taking,” Abraham said, adding however that he wants “all of the investigations to be vetted to the fullest!!”

When all the results are in, Abraham said, “I will push for any punishment to the letter of the law that is recommended by this investigation.”

When asked his reaction to the recent development in the Cops for Kids investigations, Rader responded: “Not reacting. This is labeled potential and report is in process.”

Carney, however, said: “My reaction was probably the same as the public’s: how could something like this happen?!

“I was very unhappy and further disappointed,” he said. “I asked for a meeting with Mrs. Setzer, Mr. Husemann, and Mr. Gambill to understand what possible laws had been broken and what public statements we were prepared to make.”

Carney said he hopes to “get a better understanding of who in administration knew what (and) when,” regarding the former police chief’s potential misuse of funds.

Both Carney and Atkins are looking beyond the Cops for Kids situation and into the future, attempting to find a way to prevent these kinds of situations from reoccurring.

Carney said he wants commissioners and town staff to “look into what opportunities we have to better implement checks and balances with department budgets.

“As you know,” he said, “the board approves an overall budget and then staff and administration are responsible for maintaining expenses within that budget.”

However, Carney asked: “What happens when a department head has authority to divert expenditures within their budget, or additional funding from outside sources?”

Carney said he believes “many, many meetings will take place in upcoming days and weeks to discuss these two questions!”

A clearly frustrated Atkins added: “Is this symptomatic of a much larger problem throughout the town?”

He said “past incidents involving questionable accounting practices” have made it “obvious” that the town doesn’t have “the oversight nor checks and balances in place.”

He said “the question that begs to be asked is: do we have the right people in the right positions to oversee and account for the financial integrity of the town?

“I would imagine at some point Mr. Husemann will be asking himself that same question,” Atkins said.

Former police chief violated federal regulations

Cops for Kids wasn’t the only fund that former Mooresville Police Chief John Crone mishandled.

In 2002, Crone violated federal guidelines when he used $4,862 in federal asset forfeiture funds to pay airfare costs for the Mayor’s Youth Council trip to New York City.

The federal asset forfeiture program is a nationwide cooperative effort among federal, state and local law enforcement agencies that share proceeds resulting from federal forfeitures of assets – such as money and property – used in crimes. The local agencies that are responsible for the seizure or forfeiture of property receive up to 80 percent of the proceeds, while the federal government keeps 20 percent.

But the money has strings attached in the form of guidelines for how it can be spent. In a 1994 U.S. Department of Justice memo titled “Equitable Transfers of Forfeited Monies or Properties,” Assistant Attorney General Walter Dellinger stated: “When the federal government makes an equitable transfer of forfeited monies or property to a state or local law enforcement agency, that transfer is more appropriately characterized as a conditional gift to the agency rather than as a formal contract between the federal government and the agency.

“If the state or local agency fails to use the transferred property for law enforcement purposes, the federal government may be able to pursue restitution of the property.”

Airline tickets for the 2002 Mayor’s Youth Council and chaperones – including then-Mayor Al Jones – would appear to be an impermissible use of shared assets under at least the following three sections:

(c) Payment of Non-Law Enforcement Expenses. Shared funds may be used to pay the expenses for drug testing of law enforcement personnel, but may not be used for the testing of all municipal employees. Shared funds may not be used for scholarships or financial aid, except for law enforcement personnel pursuing training that is necessary to the performance of their official duties.

(f) Non-Official Government use of Shared Assets. Any use that creates the appearance that shared funds are being used for political or personal purposes is not permitted. For example, the use of shared funds for a sheriff’s campaign paraphernalia is impermissible. The use of shared funds to settle a lawsuit is not a permissible use.

(h) Extravagant Expenditures. Receiving agencies should use federal sharing monies prudently and in such a manner as to avoid any appearance of extravagance, waste, or impropriety. The payment of personal credit card bills, the purchase of meals (except personal meals incurred during official law enforcement travel), alcoholic beverages and other such expenditures are impermissible.

For a complete look at the federal guidelines, provided by Town Hall, click on the documents below:



The federal government can grant permission on a case-by-case basis for local agencies to use the shared funds for purposes other than those listed as permissible. However, the Town of Mooresville provided no such documentation on Wednesday, when the Report obtained from Town Hall copies of Crone’s expenditures from the shared asset funds from 2002 through 2008.

Just about an hour ago, the Town of Mooresville released the following statement to the press:


After 2002, Crone did not use federal asset forfeiture money for the Mayor’s Youth Council trips; instead, he began in 2003 to use state drug tax money – formally called Unauthorized Substance Abuse Tax – in conjunction with Cops for Kids funds.

A cursory review of the state drug tax expenditures recorded by Crone shows that the former police chief used more than $25,000 from 2003 to 2008 to fund trips for the Mayor’s Youth Council, accompanied from time to time by the Police Explorers. Crone spent an additional $20,000 on the trips from his Cops for Kids fund, according to his own balance sheet.

Town Finance Director Maia Setzer said “discrepancies” exist between Crone’s expenditure sheet from the drug tax fund and the finance office’s audited ledgers.

The state drug tax fund has no restrictions on how local agencies can spend the money. However, the N.C. Attorney General has issued an opinion on the matter, which the Report is in the process of obtaining. As soon as we’ve been able to fully scrutinize the state drug-tax records – and compare them with Crone’s town purchasing-card statements, the town’s audited drug-tax ledgers and the Cops for Kids expenditures – we’ll let you know what we find.

Meanwhile, the town’s investigations into the Cops for Kids fund are ongoing.

Town Manager Steve Husemann told commissioners and town administrators in an e-mail this week that he, Setzer and Town Attorney Steve Gambill met on Wednesday “to review the status of the current investigations.”

“I am generally keeping out of that process,” Husemann said, “but I do want to address where we are going and how we can get there as soon as possible.”

He said the town needs to “put procedures in effect which will assure that similar events cannot happen in the future.”

Setzer also e-mailed commissioners an update on each investigation on Wednesday.

Internal investigation/SBI probe
The internal investigation being led by Ken Andrews of Special Investigative Services “is complete with documentation returned to the Town of Mooresville,” Setzer said.

The investigation, she added, “was not fully completed by Mr. Andrews as the N.C. State Bureau of Investigation asked Mr. Andrews to stop his interviews of certain people so that the Special Agent could interview them for his investigation.

“Once the Special Agent gives us permission to do so,” Setzer said, “Mr. Andrews may continue his interviews.”

Setzer said that the SBI’s Special Agent assigned to the Cops for Kids case “has not discussed his investigation with me.” She said, however, that she has a meeting scheduled with him today, Sept. 19, and “if there’s anything I can relay to you following that meeting, I will.”

Financial audits
Setzer also told commissioners that the first financial investigation, or audit, “is essentially as complete as it can be given the documents the town has received regarding the Cops for Kids bank records,” Setzer added. “The documentation of the investigation has been received and will be shared with the SBI and the secondary financial reviewers as appropriate.”

Setzer said that the town has remitted a contract to Greer and Walker, LLC and that “I have received word … that the firm expects to accept the engagement.

“When I receive final confirmation of that agreement and the firm begins work,” Setzer told commissioners, “I will let you know.”

Evidence room
The first review of the police department’s evidence room, directed by the SBI, is complete, Setzer said. “We have been asked by the SBI to conduct an additional audit which will be done under the direction of the SBI.”

Husemann added that the Mooresville Police Department has developed a “property (evidence) room physical layout plan.”

Under Setzer’s direction, Husemann said, “We plan to inventory and remove everything from the property room and place it in a sealed POD. We will then have shelving installed in the property room and return the evidence in an organized and recorded fashion.

“That which is no longer needed will be disposed of in accordance with state law,” Husemann continued. “We plan to order security doors for the property room which will record every time the door is opened and by whom. It will also be documented with video tape.”

He said that some of the items will require town board approval because of cost. “This may seem like overkill,” he said, “but it is probably the norm for the more professional departments.”

Husemann added that the town “will obviously coordinate this with the SBI, but we feel that this would not interfere with their investigation.” Also, he warned: “This will be a very lengthy process.”

The town manager also told commissioners that the finance department will work with the police department “to assure the proper recording of all revenues and expenditures related to the property room and the state and federal drug forfeiture accounts. This would also address the disposal of future property no longer needed for evidence.”

Finally, Husemann said he is interested in seeking accreditation of the Mooresville Police Department through CALEA (Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies, Inc.). “While this is an expensive and time consuming process, it would have avoided a lot of the problems that we are facing today,” Husemann said. “It would also help re-establish the credibility to the department.”