For the second year in a row, problems have arisen with federal paperwork

to secure funds seized from drug dealers for use by the Fayette County Sheriff's

Department for equipment and training.

The paperwork was not signed by County Commission Chairman Greg Dunn by

the Aug. 31 deadline, but Assistant County Attorney Dennis Davenport said

the sheriff's department withdrew the paperwork from the board of commissioners

on Aug. 25 before Dunn had the chance.

Dunn reiterated the point after Thursday's County Commission meeting.

"None of the commissioners signed it, because it was withdrawn before

the deadline," he said.

The county's head of finance, Mark Pullium, said yesterday that he

had not been involved in this year's controversy over the drug funds.

"I know our external auditor is here this week, but there's not

been any special requests concerning those funds," he said.

Rick Lindsey, attorney for the sheriff's department, contends that

Dunn was provided with supporting documentation, a financial summary of the

department's drug forfeiture account and a copy of the check register

of the account.

Both attorneys sent letters outlining their viewpoints to the U.S. Department

of Justice, which handles the paperwork through its Asset Forfeiture and

Money Laundering division.

In his Sept. 2 letter, Davenport said "a request is currently being

made for supporting documentation for the certification."

But in Lindsey's Sept. 8 letter to the same agency, he indicated that

Dunn had the original documentation provided for almost a month "and

never made a request for additional documentation and never asked questions

of the sheriff regarding these funds."

Lindsey also said that "to the best of the sheriff's knowledge" none

of the information regarding the paperwork and its documentation was forwarded

Davenport concurred that the information was received by the board in late

July, but when an employee of the sheriff's department took the certification

letter back from the board's office, "no mention was made that

the certification was being forwarded to the Department of Justice without

the signature of the board."

"The board, consistent with last year's request, will not consider

the execution of the certification without proper supporting documentation," Davenport

wrote in the letter.

Lindsey said that a county official contacted a sheriff's representative

shortly before the Aug. 31 deadline for the paperwork, saying Dunn was not

going to sign and "no explanation was given." Sheriff Randall Johnson

was then instructed, it doesn't say by whom, to send in the paperwork

with just his signature only, Lindsey said.

Following that submission, the county asked to have its financial director

review the federal forfeiture account, Lindsey said. That permission was

granted by the sheriff and is the same process used last year, Lindsey added.

"The federal forfeiture account, like all of the sheriff's funds,

are audited each year by an outside, independent certified public accounting

firm," Lindsey said. "The audits are public documents and are given

to the county commissioners each year for review. The chairman is provided

with sufficient information to provide him with the needed information that

all of the federal forfeiture funds are properly deposited into the account

and properly utilized under the federal guidelines."

A similar controversy arose last year when Dunn refused the sign the certification

saying there hadn't been a full accounting of how the monies in the

fund were spent. The county's chief financial officer did audit last

year's fund, however.

Ultimately, last year's certification for the drug seizure money was

signed by board vice chair Linda Wells once Dunn refused to sign.