Theft Case Goes to Prosecutor's Office

Assistant State Attorney Robert Hale said this week he has received the report from the sheriff's office regarding more than $10,000 in bank deposits that came up missing from the Tax Collector's office in February.

Hale said he is in the process of reviewing the materials, and will decide shortly whether to charge a former employee of Tax Collector Jimmy Harris' office at the Carrabelle annex with a crime.

"There are questions I need answers to to make sure we have a solid case here," Hale said.

Harris said in mid-March that an employee in his Carrabelle branch office "failed to take deposits to the bank in a timely manner." He said the deposits in question totaled $10,720.54, comprising $9,131.26 in checks and $1,588.58 in cash.

"All the work was processed," he said. "The money just wasn't taken to the bank."

Hale also said he has discussed with School Board Attorney Barbara Sanders details surrounding Peter R. Brown Construction, Inc.'s decision last month to repay the schools $130,583 in overcharges after the company learned an employee falsified billing documents that in at least one instance inflated charges billed to the district.

"She let me know what was going on," said Hale, adding that his office is not currently conducting an investigation.

"First someone is going to have to make a complaint;" he said. "I think Peter Brown is more the victim than the school district is. A complaint's going to have to be filed with the sheriff's office and we'll move forward from there.

"We don't do investigations, it's very rare," noted Hale. "Other than a very exceptional circumstance, we don't initiate investigations."

Clemons-Rutherford, the school district's architect of record, has retained a forensic auditor for a complete review. Calls to the architectural firm were not returned.

Also, Peter Brown has agreed to reimburse the school district for any extra costs and expenses incurred by the district as a result of this matter.

"I think once that (the audit) is complete, they'll have a lot of paperwork that they've generated," said Hale. "I think once they finish this audit, I think ultimately law enforcement will get involved. Once we get to that point, I'm going to have to make that decision.

"We hope the victim will cooperate with us, and apparently they are willing to cooperate," said Hale.