Tally grows of questionable purchases using state funds

The new disclosure adds to the tens of thousands of dollars worth of questionable state forfeiture fund expenditures uncovered in a June AJC investigation. The story led to an ongoing inquiry by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation.

In addition, Gov. Nathan Deal called for reforms and state House Speaker David Ralston, R-Blue Ridge, appointed a group to consider possible proposals for next spring’s legislative session. Fulton Commissioner Robb Pitts pushed a successful resolution through the commission that allows it to review the DA’s planned state forfeiture expenditures.

State forfeiture funds, confiscated for suspected violations of state law, are separate from federal forfeiture money, which is confiscated for violations of federal law. Rules on spending the federal money are stricter, and mixing state and federal forfeiture funds violates U.S. Department of Justice rules.

The 2011 purchases went undisclosed because they were made with $24,500 in state forfeiture funds mistakenly deposited into an account that held federal money, said Marla Robinson, chief of staff for Fulton DA Paul Howard.

As a result, they were excluded from the DA’s response to an AJC public records request for state forfeiture spending records, Robinson said.

“Failure to do so was simply an oversight,” Robinson said in an email.

The AJC uncovered the additional state forfeiture expenditures while reviewing a county audit of the DA’s 2011 spending.

That audit concluded that the DA’s spending on children’s meals, a fundraiser for senior citizen meals and the annual office party were barred by Georgia law.

Howard disagreed with auditors’ interpretation of the law and said his office would continue its spending.