COLORADO COMPUTERS MISSING FROM COUNTY AGENCIESEvergreen Newspapers, Inc.Documents, computer seized in Taj inquiry
By Jonathan Ellis
07/14/2005

GOLDEN — Investigators have seized documents and at least one computer after county officials asked the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office to review the findings of an audit.

The audit, which was conducted this spring by KPMG, raised a number of red flags in the way that county employees track spending and equipment in three departments. A preliminary report of KPMG’s findings was released June 22.

Following the report, County Administrator Patrick Thompson and Human Services Director Jim Moore asked the sheriff’s office to review the report for possible criminal wrongdoing. Thompson said Thursday that he doesn’t know what investigators are specifically keying on.

“Jim Moore and I want to make sure that nothing was happening that shouldn’t have been,” Thompson said.

Sheriff’s spokeswoman Jacki Tallman confirmed Thursday that documents and at least one computer have been seized in the inquiry. She emphasized that the inquiry wasn’t a criminal investigation.

“We have been looking at documents as well as the content on some computers,” she said. “We are trying to complete a thorough inquiry.”

District Attorney’s spokeswoman Pam Russell also confirmed that two of the department’s 21 investigators are also participating.

“We have told the sheriff that we will make our resources available to him, but it’s his inquiry,” Russell said.

Officials stress that no evidence of wrongdoing has been discovered.

KPMG’s preliminary report found major problems with the way employees in the Information and Technology Department kept track of county computer equipment. For example, monthly inventories were adjusted to show what computer equipment was on hand versus what should have been on hand.

In other words, if inventory records said there should be five hard drives, but only three were counted, the number in the computerized inventory record would be changed to three. Employees made little effort to find out why inventory records weren’t reconciling with actual counts.

In April 2005, the audit found, 150 items representing $48,000 were eliminated from the inventory log because they weren’t found when employees did a physical count of equipment. “It appears nothing was done to investigate the source or cause of the variance or to determine the actual location of the missing inventory,” the reported said.

The report found a similar problem in Road and Bridge, where there was a $200,000 difference in the physical count of equipment on hand compared to what inventory records said the county should have had.

The report also noted a number of other gaps in the way the county keeps track of equipment, gaps that could make it easier for employees or visitors to steal.

County commissioners ordered the review in April after hearing rumors that some equipment was stolen. One rumor indicated that employees were stealing and then selling equipment on Internet auction sites, although there is no evidence that happened.

While investigators search for evidence of criminal wrongdoing, commissioners have vowed to tighten financial controls at the county.