Imagine that you're reviewing high-ticket charges on state credit cards. You notice that an administrator in Georgia Tech's bioengineering and bioscience institute bought a jet ski and a frozen drink machine. Do you decide that those strange purchases deserve a closer look, or do you figure that bioengineers throw some wild staff meetings, and just pay the bill?

Apparently, you do the latter. Over a five-year period, Tech employee Donna Gamble allegedly bought a Yamaha Waverunner III, a Bunn Ultra 2 frozen drink system, a treadmill, an iPod, Coach bags, Gameboys and some 3,800 other items totaling $316,000.

There are two outrages here: first, that any state employee would steal so often and so flagrantly; second, that no one noticed for so long. According to a federal warrant, Gamble's buying spree went undetected until a tipster contacted Tech's Department of Internal Auditing in August. Federal agents are investigating Gamble because her purchases were charged to a grant from the National Science Foundation.

An Atlanta Journal-Constitution analysis of more than 4 million state credit card transactions documented a state program run amok. Initially, the issuance of purchasing cards, or p-cards, to state agencies was heralded as a way to cut down on red tape and improve efficiency, but the lack of oversight turned the program into a grab bag for unscrupulous employees.

Giving thousands of employees state credit cards without ensuring rigorous review guaranteed abuses. More than 23,000 cards were in circulation. The list of purchases included diamond rings and mattresses. In 2006, state agencies charged $300 million on these cards.

The worst abuses seem to occur on the state's campuses. In two weeks, University System auditors are expected to turn in an audit of p-card spending at the state's 35 public colleges and universities.

An angry Gov. Sonny Perdue has promised firings or prosecutions of those who abused the system. However, supervisors who failed to review the spending also deserve the boot, and scofflaws must be forced to make full restitution.

— Maureen Downey, for the editorial board