Turin faulted in state audit

TURIN — A state comptroller's audit identified an apparent $37,000 shortfall in the Town Court account from last year.

The audit report, released Thursday, blames Town Justice James E. Chase, who has served in that capacity since 1998, and town council members for lack of proper recordkeeping and oversight. It also blasts two councilmen, who were not named, for falsely certifying with the state Unified Court System that they had conducted a 2008 annual audit of the justice court's financial operations, even though they hadn't.

Findings from the audit, covering the period of Jan. 1, 2008, through Oct. 27, 2009, were referred to the Lewis County district attorney's office.

"We're in the preliminary stages, having just received the report," District Attorney Leanne K. Moser said. "We'll follow up on it like we would a referral from any agency."

The auditors found an apparent shortage of $37,199.

"At any point in time, the liabilities of the Court, such as bail held on pending cases and unremitted fines and fees, should equal the Justice's available cash," the comptroller's report states.

However, auditors determined that as of Oct. 27, 2009, the Town Court's cash on hand was $12,123, while its reported liabilities — gleaned from court and Lewis County Sheriff's Department records — were $49,322.

Town justices each month are to report all money collected, excluding pending bail, to the state comptroller's Justice Court Fund, then transfer it to either that fund or the town, the report states.

However, auditors indicated that Turin's monthly reports were inaccurate owing to the facts that some payments were unrecorded or recorded late and that the judge did not maintain accurate bail or deposit records.

Mr. Chase responded by letter to the comptroller's office.

"In reviewing the report it appears that the recordkeeping in my office lacked sufficient checks and balances, which would have allowed me to determine that there was a problem with my cash balance," Mr. Chase wrote in a July 28 response.

The judge said that in attempting to clear up old cases from prior judges, he refunded bail and other fees through the court account.

"I now realize that was an improper procedure since the bail funds were not initially paid into my court account," he said.

Judge Chase noted that he could not provide proof of such payments because of poor recordkeeping and destruction or misplacement of old court records during the town's move into its current office in 2005.

He added that he didn't have a court clerk until mid-2005, hadn't been provided with guidance on how to properly set up an account, didn't receive much financial training during in-service programs and has had a number of health problems, some requiring hospitalization and lengthy recuperation periods.

"My clerk and I have implemented every financial procedure recommended by your office," he wrote.

When contacted Thursday, Mr. Chase said he was unable to offer further comment, since there is an ongoing investigation.

First-year Town Supervisor Gerald R. Reed Jr., in a July 26 letter to the comptroller, also indicated that some of its recommendations — including the use of duplicate, prenumbered receipts for all court payments — had been implemented and that the Unified Court System had been notified that a 2008 audit had not been conducted. He said the town will seek to recover any unaccounted money it can within the law, the judge will give the council a monthly report, an annual audit will be conducted, and training classes will be set up for the judge and court clerk.

Mr. Reed is out of town on vacation this week.