In the federal lawsuit of Scott Crow v. Marty Montgomery U.S. District Judge Bill Wilson dismissed the case citing a controversial ruling by the 8th District Court of Appeals that gave Montgomery and others individual immunity. You may remember our post entitled Split Decision where we showed you that the Court of Appeals went outside the norm and ruled in favor of Montgomery.
The Court wrote, " Ordinarily, there is no appeal from a trial court order denying summary judgment," but granted the appeal on the grounds that "Crow's allegations show that the FCDC officials may have acted unreasonably in failing to take particular measures to improve the conditions at the facility, but that does not rise to the level of deliberate indifference." Never mind the fact that case law reads "[A] defendant, entitled to invoke a qualified immunity defense, may not appeal a district court's summary judgment order insofar as that order determines whether or not the pretrial record sets forth a 'genuine' issue of fact for trial." (Johnson, 515 U.S. at 319-20)
The Court however found that the case could go on against the County but Judge Wilson tossed the case because of the wording in the ruling issued by the 8th District Court of Appeals. So not only did the Appeals Court go out of its way to let Montgomery and crew off the hook it succeeded in tanking the case as well.
Attorney Michael Rainwater issued a petition for a Writ of Mandamus compelling the 8th District Court of Appeals to toss the entire case based on its use of this phrase, "n the facts taken in the light most favorable to [Plaintiff-Respondent Scott A.] Crow, he has not made out a constitutional violation". The petition was denied but it made Judge Wilson reconsider his findings.
Forget the fact that Judge Wilson had already ruled that there was a "genuine issue of material fact" that needed to be heard by a jury. Forget the fact that the jailers put Crow in with a prisoner who had just come off confinement for beating another prisoner even though Crow was only going to be there over night. Forget the fact that Crow's confinement was due to an errant probation violation complaint and he should not have even been there in the first place. Let's just toss this whole case away because of a controversial ruling by the 8th District Court of Appeals.
Another lawsuit involving the Faulkner County Detention Center and another inmate attack was set for trial this past Tuesday. Former inmate Aaron Bradshaw is suing Sheriff Montgomery, jail administrators, and other unidentified jailers for overcrowded conditions that led to a 2004 attack on him by another inmate. The date for this trial is still yet to be set but you can bet that Rainwater will be relying on Crow's dismissal as well as the ACLU suit that was also dismissed.
It's been a sad and disgraceful display of injustices that have went by the wayside in just about every aspect of Sheriff Montgomery's tenure as sheriff. He and his staff are responsible for giving us nothing but one problem after another. Hopefully it will be a much brighter future when this administration is ended. Provided that the people of this county put a decent, hard working professional who wants to change things for the better in office. One who has the courage and commitment to get the job done and done correctly.
We here at the Faulkner County News Blog wish to send our sympathy out to the Crow family; it's been a long tough road to take standing up for what is right and just. Believe us we know this all too well. . .
Friday, March 31, 2006
Tuesday, March 28, 2006
The Great State of Idaho has it right
Earlier this month Sheriff Richard Leo Green of Adams County in Idaho was indicted for the misuse of public funds. Green is charged with six counts of misuse of public money in violation of Idaho Code Section 18-5701 and three counts of presentation of fraudulent accounts in violation of Idaho Code Section 18-2706.
These charges stem from Sheriff Green's use of a county issued credit card for personal purchases of around $1,200. But in the great state of Idaho these charges are felonies and Sheriff Green not only faces removal from office but also could see jail time, up to 15 years, for these infractions.
That's right he faces actual jail time for his crimes against the public's trust. We believe the state of Idaho has it right unlike here in Arkansas where a politician can admit to using public money for personal gain and go free.
Sheriff Marty Montgomery was found to have used his card to pay for his personal college tuition and other college related expenses, i.e. books. Montgomery was also found to have used his card for meals for non-county employees, hotel charges for family and friends, and other as yet to be specified purchases. But here in Arkansas Montgomery faces no charges, not even a slap on the wrist.
To further compound Montgomery's violation of the public's trust he has allowed the egregious misuse of the county's credit cards within his department without any repercussions to the violators. In fact his department gave a glowing media send off to former jail administrator Kyle Kelley who quit suddenly right before special prosecutors were to question him. The investigation revealed that the sheriff's administration took away Kelley's credit card for spending "problems" yet he remained employed in apparently good standing.
If the state of Arkansas would have had criminal laws with actual penalties for these violations of the people's tax dollars then maybe these thefts would not have happened. In our last post we talked about the need for accountability of our elected officials and the need for consequences for the misuse of public tax dollars. A good way to accomplish this is for the state legislature to adopt Idaho's idea and make the misuse of public funds a felonious act.
To that end we need to call, write, and/or email our state law makers and asked them to protect the spending of our tax dollars by sponsoring legislation that would make this kind of misuse of public money a felony.
To find out more about Idaho's law and it recent additions visit:
http://www3.state.id.us/idstat/TOC/18057KTOC.html
http://www3.state.id.us/oasis/S1303.html
To contact your local state representative visit:
http://www.arkansas.gov/house/reps.php
To contact your local state senator visit:
http://www.arkansas.gov/senate/senators.php
These charges stem from Sheriff Green's use of a county issued credit card for personal purchases of around $1,200. But in the great state of Idaho these charges are felonies and Sheriff Green not only faces removal from office but also could see jail time, up to 15 years, for these infractions.
That's right he faces actual jail time for his crimes against the public's trust. We believe the state of Idaho has it right unlike here in Arkansas where a politician can admit to using public money for personal gain and go free.
Sheriff Marty Montgomery was found to have used his card to pay for his personal college tuition and other college related expenses, i.e. books. Montgomery was also found to have used his card for meals for non-county employees, hotel charges for family and friends, and other as yet to be specified purchases. But here in Arkansas Montgomery faces no charges, not even a slap on the wrist.
To further compound Montgomery's violation of the public's trust he has allowed the egregious misuse of the county's credit cards within his department without any repercussions to the violators. In fact his department gave a glowing media send off to former jail administrator Kyle Kelley who quit suddenly right before special prosecutors were to question him. The investigation revealed that the sheriff's administration took away Kelley's credit card for spending "problems" yet he remained employed in apparently good standing.
If the state of Arkansas would have had criminal laws with actual penalties for these violations of the people's tax dollars then maybe these thefts would not have happened. In our last post we talked about the need for accountability of our elected officials and the need for consequences for the misuse of public tax dollars. A good way to accomplish this is for the state legislature to adopt Idaho's idea and make the misuse of public funds a felonious act.
To that end we need to call, write, and/or email our state law makers and asked them to protect the spending of our tax dollars by sponsoring legislation that would make this kind of misuse of public money a felony.
To find out more about Idaho's law and it recent additions visit:
http://www3.state.id.us/idstat/TOC/18057KTOC.html
http://www3.state.id.us/oasis/S1303.html
To contact your local state representative visit:
http://www.arkansas.gov/house/reps.php
To contact your local state senator visit:
http://www.arkansas.gov/senate/senators.php
Thursday, March 23, 2006
A colossal waste
Tuesday night the JP’s heard from Attorney James Lane regarding his investigation into the misuse of public funds by members of the sheriff’s office. I was there and heard this report, I’d have to say that this investigation by Lane was a colossal waste of taxpayer’s money.
The Quorum Court F&A Committee commissioned Lane back in November on recommendation of H.G. Foster to determine exactly how much money was owed to the county and who was going to have to repay the funds. But upon completion of Lane's investigation the county knows very little more than it did before.
Lane concluded that Sheriff Montgomery still owes $3,561 for books, tuition, and other personal expenditures he made. The report also shows an amount of $12,400 for payroll that was paid to Tammy Weaver while she was unable to work because of an illness in her family, $9,747 of this amount is owed by Weaver.
Lane and CPA David Little say the sheriff’s office was able to “find” documentation for most of the reported $18,762 of poorly documented credit card purchases. It was reported that $2,133 of that amount was determined to be personal charges and is included in the bottom line. A total of $17,359 is all that is said to be owed by members of the sheriff’s office with $19,917 for cell phone charges and $13,785 in questionable spending at Wal-Mart and Sam’s Club left outstanding.
What about the egregious incidents of theft and fraud where everything from Pampers to Liquor was purchased with the county’s money? Well that’s in the $13,785 left outstanding. Lane told the court that it would be an expensive and nearly impossible task to nail down the perpetrators of these expenses and recommends the court to seek policy measures to prevent reoccurrences.
I don’t know about you but we seen this one coming. After all the sheriff was allowed to use county funds to pay for admittedly personal expenses without any penalty, why shouldn’t his employees get the same luxury? Just another sad commentary of our pathetic system of justice.
Excerpts from a recent article in the Arkansas Democrat Gazette concerning the egregious incidents of theft and fraud at the Faulkner County Sheriff’s Office portray me as an angry watchdog of the department. I’d have to say that this reporter hit the nail right on the head with that portrayal. Truth be told there are quite a lot of citizens angered by this and other issues that surround Sheriff Montgomery’s tenure as sheriff.
One of those individuals recently posted comments on this site stating they would be glad to send everyone a copy of the investigation that has been burned to a CD. Desmond Walls Allen’s home was burglarized in April 1998 and Allen says the Sheriff's Office wouldn't investigate the crime. A charge of residential burglary of more than $10,000 in property and nothing was being done about it. Allen found out the name of two of the perpetrators and tried to get this information to the sheriff’s office but they wouldn’t return phone calls much less pursue with an investigation.
This is all too familiar to us having experienced the same sort of inexcusable lack of action against crime in our own neighborhood. It has become as commonplace as a trip to the supermarket for victims of crime to be further victimized by our local system of justice. Our neighbor and co-author of this site has a saying, “If you want to commit a crime do it in Faulkner County and you’ll get away with it”.
With our state prisons and county jails overcrowded and allegations of illegalities in several different police agencies across the state, is it really any wonder that crime is on the increase in Arkansas bucking the national trend. A 2004 FBI report shows a 1.2 % drop in violent crime nationally from last year while here in Arkansas violent crime rose 10.8% (9.3% per 100,000). Broken down further Arkansas showed a 28.0% increase in forcible rape, 6.5% increase in robbery, and 9.8% increase in aggravated assault. Property crimes in Arkansas also increased by 11.5% with the biggest jump of 20.3% for burglaries.
Now who is to blame for the lack of criminal charges in the admitted misuse of county monies? Is it Special Prosecutor Stephen Tabor of Sebastian County for not finding probable cause? Is it Judge Charles E. Clawson Jr. for setting a very narrow focus into the spending issues? Or could it be the Quorum Court for voting for a less aggressive investigation and not turning this over to the State Police from the start? It is our belief that it is a combination of all three events that led to Montgomery and staff getting away with, as Tabor put it, egregious incidents of theft and fraud.
Allen says after reading the investigation file a grand jury should have been convened to seek charges against the abuse of county tax dollars. You can get a copy by emailing your name and address to desmond@ipa.net.
How to prevent thefts like these in the future is the next topic that will likely be addressed by the Quorum Court. A topic that was touched on by some members of the court Tuesday night as well as addressed by Lane in his recommendations. Lane recommended that the sheriff's office limit it’s number of credit cards to only a few and having a supervisor go over the receipts at the time of purchase to ensure legitimacy of the items purchased. Lane suggested termination of employment be the punishment for a violation. However JP Marvin Kelley said “we are here to set policy, not to issue writs of control”. Somehow I think Kelley misses the point.
What we need are more ‘writs of control’ and better policies in order to prevent theft. We need to cancel ALL the credit cards and only buy from stores that will use P.Os. In a county jail system this size that can pretty much guarantee thousands of dollars in purchases a year we should dictate how these purchases are made. There should be no reason why we should ever pay retail price for any food or supply purchases.
But the most important need we must demand from our elected officials is accountability. Our county tax dollars were used for clearly personal items and no one was fired, no one will have to repay over $13,000 in questionable spending, and with no consequences for this theft there is no deterrent for repeat offenses. Isn’t it time we said enough is enough? Isn’t it time we have a new and better administration at the sheriff’s office?
The Quorum Court F&A Committee commissioned Lane back in November on recommendation of H.G. Foster to determine exactly how much money was owed to the county and who was going to have to repay the funds. But upon completion of Lane's investigation the county knows very little more than it did before.
Lane concluded that Sheriff Montgomery still owes $3,561 for books, tuition, and other personal expenditures he made. The report also shows an amount of $12,400 for payroll that was paid to Tammy Weaver while she was unable to work because of an illness in her family, $9,747 of this amount is owed by Weaver.
Lane and CPA David Little say the sheriff’s office was able to “find” documentation for most of the reported $18,762 of poorly documented credit card purchases. It was reported that $2,133 of that amount was determined to be personal charges and is included in the bottom line. A total of $17,359 is all that is said to be owed by members of the sheriff’s office with $19,917 for cell phone charges and $13,785 in questionable spending at Wal-Mart and Sam’s Club left outstanding.
What about the egregious incidents of theft and fraud where everything from Pampers to Liquor was purchased with the county’s money? Well that’s in the $13,785 left outstanding. Lane told the court that it would be an expensive and nearly impossible task to nail down the perpetrators of these expenses and recommends the court to seek policy measures to prevent reoccurrences.
I don’t know about you but we seen this one coming. After all the sheriff was allowed to use county funds to pay for admittedly personal expenses without any penalty, why shouldn’t his employees get the same luxury? Just another sad commentary of our pathetic system of justice.
Excerpts from a recent article in the Arkansas Democrat Gazette concerning the egregious incidents of theft and fraud at the Faulkner County Sheriff’s Office portray me as an angry watchdog of the department. I’d have to say that this reporter hit the nail right on the head with that portrayal. Truth be told there are quite a lot of citizens angered by this and other issues that surround Sheriff Montgomery’s tenure as sheriff.
One of those individuals recently posted comments on this site stating they would be glad to send everyone a copy of the investigation that has been burned to a CD. Desmond Walls Allen’s home was burglarized in April 1998 and Allen says the Sheriff's Office wouldn't investigate the crime. A charge of residential burglary of more than $10,000 in property and nothing was being done about it. Allen found out the name of two of the perpetrators and tried to get this information to the sheriff’s office but they wouldn’t return phone calls much less pursue with an investigation.
This is all too familiar to us having experienced the same sort of inexcusable lack of action against crime in our own neighborhood. It has become as commonplace as a trip to the supermarket for victims of crime to be further victimized by our local system of justice. Our neighbor and co-author of this site has a saying, “If you want to commit a crime do it in Faulkner County and you’ll get away with it”.
With our state prisons and county jails overcrowded and allegations of illegalities in several different police agencies across the state, is it really any wonder that crime is on the increase in Arkansas bucking the national trend. A 2004 FBI report shows a 1.2 % drop in violent crime nationally from last year while here in Arkansas violent crime rose 10.8% (9.3% per 100,000). Broken down further Arkansas showed a 28.0% increase in forcible rape, 6.5% increase in robbery, and 9.8% increase in aggravated assault. Property crimes in Arkansas also increased by 11.5% with the biggest jump of 20.3% for burglaries.
Now who is to blame for the lack of criminal charges in the admitted misuse of county monies? Is it Special Prosecutor Stephen Tabor of Sebastian County for not finding probable cause? Is it Judge Charles E. Clawson Jr. for setting a very narrow focus into the spending issues? Or could it be the Quorum Court for voting for a less aggressive investigation and not turning this over to the State Police from the start? It is our belief that it is a combination of all three events that led to Montgomery and staff getting away with, as Tabor put it, egregious incidents of theft and fraud.
Allen says after reading the investigation file a grand jury should have been convened to seek charges against the abuse of county tax dollars. You can get a copy by emailing your name and address to desmond@ipa.net.
How to prevent thefts like these in the future is the next topic that will likely be addressed by the Quorum Court. A topic that was touched on by some members of the court Tuesday night as well as addressed by Lane in his recommendations. Lane recommended that the sheriff's office limit it’s number of credit cards to only a few and having a supervisor go over the receipts at the time of purchase to ensure legitimacy of the items purchased. Lane suggested termination of employment be the punishment for a violation. However JP Marvin Kelley said “we are here to set policy, not to issue writs of control”. Somehow I think Kelley misses the point.
What we need are more ‘writs of control’ and better policies in order to prevent theft. We need to cancel ALL the credit cards and only buy from stores that will use P.Os. In a county jail system this size that can pretty much guarantee thousands of dollars in purchases a year we should dictate how these purchases are made. There should be no reason why we should ever pay retail price for any food or supply purchases.
But the most important need we must demand from our elected officials is accountability. Our county tax dollars were used for clearly personal items and no one was fired, no one will have to repay over $13,000 in questionable spending, and with no consequences for this theft there is no deterrent for repeat offenses. Isn’t it time we said enough is enough? Isn’t it time we have a new and better administration at the sheriff’s office?
Sunday, March 12, 2006
Election News
With the filing date for the 2006 election nearing we have been busy revamping our election page. We have added pages for every race in the county and in cooperation with the owners of a local discussion forum, the Funky Penguin, we have added a local political forum. See the link to this forum at our election page or click here.
Please use this forum to discuss issues in the upcoming election. We invite all candidates to participate in this community-based forum. We have added additional email addresses to better manage information in this very important election.
For candidate information send your emails to:
election-news@fcso.info
To send us your candidate press release use:
press-release@fcso.info
For corrections, comments, and all other election related email use:
fcvu@fcso.info
With the tremendous and continual growth in this county this will be a very important election. We need to elect candidates that understand and are ready to face this challenge.
Please use this forum to discuss issues in the upcoming election. We invite all candidates to participate in this community-based forum. We have added additional email addresses to better manage information in this very important election.
For candidate information send your emails to:
election-news@fcso.info
To send us your candidate press release use:
press-release@fcso.info
For corrections, comments, and all other election related email use:
fcvu@fcso.info
With the tremendous and continual growth in this county this will be a very important election. We need to elect candidates that understand and are ready to face this challenge.
Tuesday, March 07, 2006
More Hypocrisy at the FCSO
We now have a copy of the investigation into the infamous credit card scandal that has plagued the Faulkner County Sheriff’s Office and tarnished its reputation since the story broke in late 2004. In reading the comments made and the conclusions drawn we’d have to say that this investigation is so full of hypocrisy its really quite pathetic.
In Sheriff Montgomery’s and Chief Deputy Wallace’s interview on May 19th, 2005 the investigators told Montgomery they found an old account closed 3-2004 for former Jail Administrator Kyle Kelley that was not reported to the Legislative Audit Committee. In reviewing this account’s history Montgomery became angry and suggested that criminal charges be sought against Kelley.
Yet Kyle Kelly is allowed to resign in good standing shortly before this interview was conducted. Eight days prior to talking with investigators Wallace was quoted in the Log Cabin saying,
Now how convenient it was for Kelley to resign when he did, a little to convenient if you asked us. Did, as Montgomery stated, the sheriff and his staff really not know what he was charging on his card? What were the problems that led the sheriff to take Kelley’s card from him in the fall of 2003? If Montgomery was so angered by these revelations of misspending that he wanted charges brought against Kelley then why was Kelley given a glowing send off in the media? Could this be part of a calculated plan to avoid criminal charges or is this coincidence just another lucky break for Sheriff Montgomery.
Speaking of lucky breaks, did you know that Chuck Lange, executive director for the Arkansas Sheriff’s Association, reluctantly paid the bills for the Seattle trip that were in question without documentation? Did you also know that Sheriff Montgomery was given the Associations credit card to pay for this trip? Was this another lucky break?
The hypocrisy of it all really stands out when you read the summary of the May 19th, 2005 investigation,
Sheriff Montgomery wanted charges brought against former Jail Administrator Kyle Kelley for obvious personal expenditures on his credit card and now revels in the lack of charges against him for the same crime.
No probable cause? Give us a break…
In Sheriff Montgomery’s and Chief Deputy Wallace’s interview on May 19th, 2005 the investigators told Montgomery they found an old account closed 3-2004 for former Jail Administrator Kyle Kelley that was not reported to the Legislative Audit Committee. In reviewing this account’s history Montgomery became angry and suggested that criminal charges be sought against Kelley.
Marty was then advised that we had located an old account closed 3-04 for Kyle Kelly. Marty stated that he had pulled Kyle's card from him in the fall of 2003 because of some problems. We then went over Kyle's charges item by item with Marty from the period of Jan 03 to Mar 04. Marty became visibly angry when charges to Lake Liquor and Springhill Wine and Spirits and numerous other obviously personal expenditures were related.
Marty stated that he was unaware of any of this and suggested that this be turned over to HG Foster for criminal consideration. Marty was advised that the Legislative Audit had apparently not seen his information. Marty repeatedly questioned Steve on how this could have gotten by them in the review procedures. Steve stated that there are probably PO's with their initials approving payment.
Yet Kyle Kelly is allowed to resign in good standing shortly before this interview was conducted. Eight days prior to talking with investigators Wallace was quoted in the Log Cabin saying,
Faulkner County jail administrator resigns
By RACHEL PARKER
LOG CABIN STAFF WRITER
[. . .]
Chief Deputy Steve Wallace said Kelley resigned Monday for personal reasons and "was not forced by any means."
"It was his choice. Who knows why people quit. It's just the best thing for them and their family," he said.
"We think a lot of him. He's been an integral part of this team ever since '97. We're going to miss him for sure. He's been a big part of what we've done. We support him in whatever he does."
Now how convenient it was for Kelley to resign when he did, a little to convenient if you asked us. Did, as Montgomery stated, the sheriff and his staff really not know what he was charging on his card? What were the problems that led the sheriff to take Kelley’s card from him in the fall of 2003? If Montgomery was so angered by these revelations of misspending that he wanted charges brought against Kelley then why was Kelley given a glowing send off in the media? Could this be part of a calculated plan to avoid criminal charges or is this coincidence just another lucky break for Sheriff Montgomery.
Speaking of lucky breaks, did you know that Chuck Lange, executive director for the Arkansas Sheriff’s Association, reluctantly paid the bills for the Seattle trip that were in question without documentation? Did you also know that Sheriff Montgomery was given the Associations credit card to pay for this trip? Was this another lucky break?
The hypocrisy of it all really stands out when you read the summary of the May 19th, 2005 investigation,
This inquiry, conducted in the form of an audit review, reveals that public funds have been used within the Sheriff's Office for personal expenditures and other budgeted funds have been used for questionable purposes with respect to the Jail and personnel.
Sheriff Martin P Montgomery:
Sheriff Montgomery has utilized his Visa Business Card Act# XXXX-XXXX-XXXX-4736 during the period Jan 1, 2003 through Dec 31, 2004 to pay for personal expenditures. These expenditures include, but are not limited to educational expenses, travel expenses for family members (San Antonio TX, Nashville TN, Seattle WA, and a family vacation to AZ), vehicle maintenance, and other questionable purchases. It should be noted that Sheriff Montgomery has made some reimbursements toward these purchases but reimbursements do not match or equal expenditures to this date.
Sheriff Montgomery did authorize Tammy Weaver (civilian employed) to take paid, administrative leave well above the amount of available time she had accrued for maternity and sickness of a child.
Sheriff Montgomery did allow his wife (Arlene Montgomery, sole occupant) to drive a county sheriff's vehicle during which time an accident occurred involving this vehicle.
Chief Deputy Steve Wallace:
Chief Deputy Wallace has utilized his Visa Business Card Act# XXXX-XXXX- XXXX- 4744 during the period Jan 1, 2003 through Dec 31, 2004 to pay for personal expenditures. These expenditures involve, but are not limited to the registration of his wife and family to attend a National Sheriff's Association Conference in Nashville TN., as well as educational classes purchases.
Other questionable expenditures on this account arise from the practice of lending the card to other Sheriff's Office personnel to utilize while on trips for prisoner transport or other travel. Examples of these types of expenditures would include meals and hotel rooms at various Casinos, etc.
Major Perry Wyse:
Major Wyse has utilized his Visa Business Card Act# XXXX- XXXX- XXXX- 0462 to pay for and not limited to, the registration of family members of Tammy Weaver and Alison Hendrix to attend the National Sheriff's Conference in Nashville TN.
Other questionable expenditures on this account arise from the practice of lending the card to other Sheriff's Office personnel to utilize while on trips for prisoner transport or other travel. Examples of these types of expenditures would include meals and hotel rooms at various Casinos.
Kyle Kelley - Jail Administrator
Kyle Kelley had utilized his Visa Business Card Act# XXXX- XXXX- XXXX- 3335 to make purchases at Liquor, Retail, and Pharmacy stores; Pay personal DirectTV bills; On-Line purchases via Pay-Pal Accounts; and grocery. Although charged with the county card the majority of these bills were paid personally by Kyle Kelley. It should be noted that Kyle Kelley has resigned his position with the Sheriff's Office and is no longer employed.
Sheriff Montgomery wanted charges brought against former Jail Administrator Kyle Kelley for obvious personal expenditures on his credit card and now revels in the lack of charges against him for the same crime.
No probable cause? Give us a break…
Friday, March 03, 2006
Changing Minds
Faced with overwhelming evidence Faulkner County resident Tim Flanigan recently changed his mind about his support of the sheriff’s office. Back in January Flanigan wrote a letter to the editor condemning the actions taken by the Quorum Court saying their "attempt control or humiliate the sheriff's department" amounts to simple "petty politics".
But after reading the 1,350 page investigative report into the credit card scandal Mr. Flanigan now believes the Quorum Court did the right thing. He is now wondering how special prosecutor Stephen Tabor could not find evidence that rises to the level of probable cause. In a new letter Flanigan writes,
Recently I took a business trip to NW Arkansas to install a computer and networking system at our warehouse. My boss gave me his personal credit card with his name on it for gas expenses. I used this card without any questions from gas station attendants.
While there I needed to get a couple of cables and other various items to complete the installation so I called the home office and asked to use the card to purchase these items, I also asked to use it for lunch. Again I was able to use the card without too much trouble, the guy at the local Radio Shack was looking intently at the back of the card while I signed the slip. I told I wasn’t the person who was issued the card but I was his employee. After looking at my driver’s license he completed the transaction.
Now I should note that I signed my name to each credit card slip, as I was the authorized agent of the card holder making the transaction. Now these transactions were perfectly fine because I got the permission of the entity responsible for paying the card before the purchases were made. In the many incidents in question at the sheriff’s office however, the people responsible for repaying the charges, you and me, the taxpayer, did not authorize these "agents" to use those card for the personal items that were purchased.
This unauthorized use the very definition of theft and for Stephen Tabor, who is incidentally up for re-election, not to find efficient probable cause is inexcusable. I’d say that is where the politics lie in this case.
Lack of officers to patrol the county, the lay-off of part time deputies for political reasons, the non-enforcement of laws, the lack of charges in the credit card scandal, and the lawsuits of neglected inmate care have blackened the image of the sheriff’s office, yet the sheriff and his staff remain employed. Sheriff Montgomery is either leading a charmed life or he "knows where all the bodies are buried."
{Editor's note: The above quotes were taken from letters published at the Log Cabin Democrat. Please visit the link to the entire letters as written by Mr. Flanigan}
But after reading the 1,350 page investigative report into the credit card scandal Mr. Flanigan now believes the Quorum Court did the right thing. He is now wondering how special prosecutor Stephen Tabor could not find evidence that rises to the level of probable cause. In a new letter Flanigan writes,
I was wrong in my letter when I said that the sheriff's office does not have to be micro-managed. After reading the report, one can only conclude that we need all new management and spending controls. I only got through about 450 pages of the report but that was more than enough. Why Stephen Tabor, the Special Prosecutor from Fort Smith, was unable to determine if criminal charges should be brought is completely unbelievable. Mr. Tabor states that, "While there is ample evidence to arouse suspicion, I do not feel the evidence rises to the level of probable cause."
If you are a taxpayer of Faulkner County and if you read the report I did, I would be willing to say that not only would you be suspicious, you would be outraged. You would also be able to find probable cause and you would want our local prosecutor to go after the people listed in this report.
In the first 40 or so pages of the report I added up over $22,000 in charges, some so blatant and poorly explained that you just know the taxpayers were being taken to the cleaners. The report also gives the names of the people whose credit card was used. What is scary is that this 1,350 page report is only for the year 2004. By far the biggest reasons given were either that the person did not know the charges were made to their credit card or they gave the credit card to someone else and they did not know what was charged.
Just how many taxpayers do not know what is charged to their card unless it is a case of theft? Or would you hand your credit card to someone to use; see they have run up a bill; not even ask what they charged; and then forget that you even gave the card to anyone? These poor excuses are what the prosecutor says is not probable cause - I don't know, or I forgot.
This report is a true embarrassment to the sheriff's department. It does not need to get filed away by our local authorities and swept under the table; it needs to be investigated. I can understand now why we have so few deputies actually patrolling the county and risking their lives for us. If the sheriff's department had actual spending controls in place, we would have more money to put more deputies on the street that could arrest some people. The taxpayers of Faulkner County deserve better.
Recently I took a business trip to NW Arkansas to install a computer and networking system at our warehouse. My boss gave me his personal credit card with his name on it for gas expenses. I used this card without any questions from gas station attendants.
While there I needed to get a couple of cables and other various items to complete the installation so I called the home office and asked to use the card to purchase these items, I also asked to use it for lunch. Again I was able to use the card without too much trouble, the guy at the local Radio Shack was looking intently at the back of the card while I signed the slip. I told I wasn’t the person who was issued the card but I was his employee. After looking at my driver’s license he completed the transaction.
Now I should note that I signed my name to each credit card slip, as I was the authorized agent of the card holder making the transaction. Now these transactions were perfectly fine because I got the permission of the entity responsible for paying the card before the purchases were made. In the many incidents in question at the sheriff’s office however, the people responsible for repaying the charges, you and me, the taxpayer, did not authorize these "agents" to use those card for the personal items that were purchased.
This unauthorized use the very definition of theft and for Stephen Tabor, who is incidentally up for re-election, not to find efficient probable cause is inexcusable. I’d say that is where the politics lie in this case.
Lack of officers to patrol the county, the lay-off of part time deputies for political reasons, the non-enforcement of laws, the lack of charges in the credit card scandal, and the lawsuits of neglected inmate care have blackened the image of the sheriff’s office, yet the sheriff and his staff remain employed. Sheriff Montgomery is either leading a charmed life or he "knows where all the bodies are buried."
{Editor's note: The above quotes were taken from letters published at the Log Cabin Democrat. Please visit the link to the entire letters as written by Mr. Flanigan}
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