LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) - The Arkansas Legislative Audit released a report alleging financial misconduct by the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office, including misuse of county funds to pay a personal phone bill.
The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reported Wednesday that the audit also revealed the sheriff’s office purchased a boat from a county employee without properly disclosing it. Monroe County Sheriff Michael Neal paid $10,500 for a boat, motor and trailer, which were titled to the sheriff’s chief deputy at the time.
The sheriff’s office would have needed to get approval from the county’s quorum court in order to properly purchased a boat from a county employee.
Neal says the deputy sold the boat to a company nearly a year before the office bought it. Neal also says a quorum court and county judge did approve the purchase of the boat.
Additionally, the audit showed that the sheriff used a county cellphone account for personal use, which he reimbursed nearly in full with personal funds. Between January 2017 and June 2018, documents show Neal and his family spent $2,936 on a county cellphone plan, $2,911 of which Neal repaid. In September, Neal and his family moved to a private cellphone plan.
Neal also had a credit card in his name but used the county’s mailing address. Personal purchases made on the card were paid by Neal monthly, while county funds paid for county purchases. Neal said both the credit card and the cellphone plan were personal accounts which he funded.
Neal called the audit “biased” and said it was politically motivated. He also said he intended to file formal complaints against the auditor, who was local.
“I feel what I was written up for was petty,” Neal said in an email.
The audit will be presented to the Legislative Joint Auditing Committee Dec. 13 and 14. No criminal charges have been filed but a prosecutor can still review the case.
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Information from: Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, http://www.arkansasonline.com
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