Mohave Community College District And Board Members Hero, Hargrove, Anderson, Wakimoto And President
Misuse of government credit cards for spousal travel, alcohol, entertainment, and personal use

Ashley case similar to
mcc travelgate investigation
by dr. Bill ullery

According to two 2-8-06 local news articles, the former finance director of Lake Havasu City, Mike Ashley, has been charged with four felonies occurring during his term of employment. The four counts of theft, all class six felonies, were for alleged misuse of city credit cards on four different dates.

There are striking similarities with the ongoing investigation of Mohave Community College board members alleged criminal misuse and theft of public monies in over 21 travel excursions.

Excuses not Exoneration

Evidently, every purchase Ashley made was reimbursed except for a $117. Ashley apparently refused to pay it because the city owes him for unpaid sick leave. The key issue with the charges is the initial misuse of the credit cards. Reimbursement doesn't change what happened.

The news reports noted that former LHC City Manager Tim Ernster dismissed Ashley immediately for using city credit cards for personal expenses. Ernster knows the law.

MCC board members admit to doing the same thing&using MCC credit cards to pay for personal travel and entertainment. But apparently, MCC board members think they are above the law. They claim that paying back some of the personal expenses charged to MCC makes their sins go away. Exonerated is the way they describe themselves in an MCC press release.

Ashley still owes the city $117 according to the news report. But, MCC board members still owe more than 13 times that amount, including $1,547 for a five-day Hawaiian vacation in 2003. That was only one of nearly than two-dozen trips under investigation.

Felonies not just Failures

In the Ashley investigation, a local newspaper also reported, Account Services Specialist Michael Stelpstra of the Arizona Auditor General's Office said his office conducts audits of the city's finances every year, but that it only concerns itself with making sure the city stayed within their approved limitations, which it has.in other words, the Auditor General's audit did not take into account possible felonies&violations of Arizona statutes. This is a critical point in the comparison between the Ashley and MCC Travelgate investigations.

Failures to follow policy are only part of the story. The Auditor General's 1-31-06 letter on the MCC travelgate investigation stated: During our review, we noted that travelers claimed and the District approved expenditures that appeared to have violated the District's travel policies, including the purchase of alcohol, valet parking, spousal travel expenses, and reimbursement of additional nonbusiness days. Those purchases were made with the District's credit cards. The last sentence alludes to the more serious act&the same felony Ashley is charged with.

As with the Ashley case, the Auditor General did not review the MCC travelgate case relative to violations of state law and the constitutional prohibition on gifts, which includes alcohol, spousal travel, and non-business travel days. Violation of the law is the realm of the state's Attorney General and the County Attorney. As in the Ashley case, the MCC travelgate offenders may be charged with felonies.

On just one trip, the 2003 MCC travel excursion to Hawaii, board members Sally Eggers-Hero and Dan Hargrove ran up a tab of nearly $8,000. And, a number of charges for the spouses of the two board members are yet to be revealed. Hargrove calls his actions a mistake. And he implies that it's okay to make such mistakes.

The Hawaiian vacation started in Las Vegas December 27&almost a full week before the conference started - and ended again in Las Vegas on January 8&a full two days after the conference ended. Who reimbursed the taxpayers for these vacation credit card charges? Not Hero. Not Hargrove. Is this another mistake?

Contributions or Cover-up?

According to MCC's Bill Lovejoy, MCC Foundation funds were used to pay back $3,851.59. More than four months later. We questioned whether this late reimbursement was intended to cover the illegal expenditures made with public monies. Again, the Auditor General's report does not address the question of whether using Foundation funds is legal or not. (Funds we think were intended by donors for student scholarships.) The A.G.'s report simply notes that it happened.

Amazingly, there was no resolution of such payments on the travel claim forms submitted by Hero and Hargrove. The travel claim forms were cleaned and had no evidence of illegal charges. The evidence is in the actual receipts that were not closely examined in annual audits. To coin a phrase, the devil is in the details when it comes to uncovering corruption.

Freedom of Information requests revealed receipts for plane fares for spouses, the extra nights in Las Vegas, the extra vacation days in Hawaii prior to the start of the conference, the entertainment charges for luaus, moonlight dinner catamaran cruises, Hero's massage, pina coladas, Hargrove's cab fares, Hargrove's car rentals for $802.73, event tickets of $360 for each couple that included adult entertainment, the expensive restaurants, wine, etc., etc. Most were paid with president Tom Henry's MCC credit cards. All such charges are violations of Arizona statute on misuse public funds.

It ain't over until...

The MCC travelgate investigation is also similar to a case found on the Auditor General's website; http://www.auditorgen. State. Az.Us/pastIR.htm A Mobile Elementary School District board member was cited for criminal misuse and theft of public moneys. The theft occurred over six years. That's about the same time span covered in the MCC travelgate investigation.in the Mobile School case only six travel excursions were at issue amounting to only $1749 for expenditures such as spousal travel, food and beverages, entertainment, etc. MCC travelgate includes almost two-dozen trips and more than thirteen times the amount in possibly illegal charges.

Amazingly, in an e-Press article on 2-3-06, MCC president Tom Henry said MCC has been exonerated of the allegation of misusing school funds Henry apparently based his statement on the 1-31-06 auditor's letter even though it is clear that the audit dealt only with District policies and not possible felonies. Maybe it is just p.R. Spin. Maybe it is wishful thinking on Henry's part.

In a Mohave Daily News article under the heading State audit clears MCC board, MCC board member Dan Hargrove said, Bill Ullery's claims turn out to be unfounded, and the misuse of thousands of dollars in public funds has not been substantiated... in fact, the letter doesn't even mention the misuse of public funds. Sounds like more spin. Based on what we see with the Ashley and Mobile School District cases, MCC board members are not in the clear. The other shoethe one belonging to the Attorney General and the County Attorney&hasn't dropped.

When the Attorney General and the County Attorney picks up the investigation and focuses on illegal use of public funds, we think the current and former MCC board members Hero, Hargrove, Anderson, and Wakimoto along with president Henry and V.P. Lovejoy will face the same fate as Ashley and the Mobile School District board member.

A sixth audit report with more evidence of misuse will be mailed to the Auditor General today. And, our attorney is working on some of the more critical details of our investigations and reports. Stay tuned...

Company: Mohave Community College District And Board Members Hero, Hargrove, Anderson, Wakimoto And President
Country: USA
State: Arizona
City: Kingman
Address: 1971 Jagerson Ave
Phone: 9287570801

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