The FBI and a federal grand jury has been investigating Mecklenburg County DSS since August and county officials have attempted to hide that probe from the public. How else to explain playing 20 Questions with April Betha’s document request — not mention flat out refusing to answer our own direct questions on the matter back in December? The bombshell over the weekend:
A federal grand jury last fall requested more than three years of financial documents from a now-defunct charity program run by the Mecklenburg Department of Social Services, according to a newly released copy of the subpoena.
The August request came as authorities were conducting a criminal investigation into a “suspected felony,” the subpoena states. It asked for, among other things, copies of all receipts, vouchers and paperwork on purchases made through the Giving Tree charity since 2006 and any communication from the county’s finance department on donations received by the charity.
Once again County Manage Harry Jones has some serious explaining to do. Jones has claimed total transparency in this matter. But this revelation — not to mention the cold, smug way Deputy County Attorney Tyrone Wade defends his calculated dissembling — indicates it was official county policy to hide the existence of the FBI’s involvement for as long as possible.
That is not transparency, that is not accountability. But it is Mecklenburg County government.
Bonus Observation: If Jennifer Roberts cannot raise herself to condemn this obvious breach of open and responsive, government she slides from ineffectual to co-conspirator. Then I wonder if the Uptown paper has the guts to condemn her….
