C-L: Auditor's MBN probe supports few charges | Jackson Free Press | Jackson, MS

C-L: Auditor's MBN probe supports few charges

The Clarion-Ledger reports:

A two-year investigation of alleged misconduct at the Mississippi Bureau of Narcotics has substantiated only minor allegations against two of the state employees targeted.

The investigation, conducted by State Auditor Phil Bryant, was touched off by an internal report by then-Bureau of Narcotics Director Frank Melton. The report said bureau employees transferred airplanes to other agencies to curry political favor, stole state property and falsified overtime records.

The allegations, sent to the auditor's office on April 17, 2003, were based on the testimony of confidential sources.

Bryant's investigators concluded that eight people targeted in the probe were "in compliance with state law." Two others, David Knight and Hal Walters, were found to have acted improperly.

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