Auditing an Embezzler
Someone left a comment after my Budget Process, part 2 post. The anonymous comment alleged that Dan Painter was involved with some financial trouble in Hudspeth County in 2003. If someone posts a comment anonymously that states something incorrect and damaging, it should be removed. If someone has a complaint about a comment, contact me and I will review it. I allow anonymous commenting to this blog because I want people to feel free to participate. With the right to anonymous commenting comes the responsibility to be fair, honest and respectful.
So I took this comment about Mr. Painter seriously and decided to do a little research. I interviewed Kay Scarbrough, Hudspeth County Tax Assessor, and Judge Becky Dean-Walker, Hudspeth County Judge.
On August 22, 2003 Eva Tarango was indicted for theft by the district judge in El Paso. She was the internal auditor for Hudspeth County. She pled guilty and was fined $8,000 and five years deferred probation. She had been the internal auditor for the county for eighteen years and was paid approximately $23,000 per year. She also was the indigent coordinator for the county and received an additional $1,800 per month. She also convinced the county commissioners to giver her another $4,000 per year supplement. She also convinced the county commissioners to make her the county purchasing agent!
Becky Dean-Walker became County Judge of Hudspeth County on December 1st, 2002. By her own admission, she did not know how to read a budget when she took office. She studied the budget and quickly began to find irregularities. The previous county treasurer had tried to report problems with Eva Tarango but was not successful. Judge Dean-Walker contacted the Texas Rangers. They would not investigate unless the county proved that at least $1,500 was missing. The judge found that amount. A Texas Ranger was sent to Hudspeth County.
He only examined the previous two years before Eva Tarango was indicted. They had identified $8,000 as missing by cancelled checks. Eventually, they identified much more stolen in the previous two years alone. Judge Dean-Walker believes Eva Tarango may have stolen more during the investigation.
The district attorney's office in El Paso tried to contact the Hudspeth county attorney, but he was traveling in California. Judge Dean-Walker was out sick for a couple of days. When she returned, the county clerk informed her that Eva Tarango had been appointed an attorney by the court (at an eventual cost of $3,000 to the county). Judge Dean-Walker contacted the district attorney's office in El Paso immediately and learned that Eva Tarango pled guilty that morning without any involvement of officials from Hudspeth County.
According to the Hudspeth County investigation, Eva Tarango purchased goods at stores in El Paso and other cities as purchasing agent including household cleaning supplies, cigarettes, house plants, children's clothing, tires worth $1100 and Christmas decorations. She concealed these thefts by cutting the tops off some receipts and stapling stacks of receipts with as many as thirty staples to make it difficult to audit. She was gambling online with the county credit card. She was making false entries for expenses that did not happen.
Eva Tarango retained her keys to the courthouse for three days after her indictment. She was removed with pay on August 25th, and on September 15, 2003 she signed her own retirement papers. She still draws full retirement pay.
Every year she would bring in a proposal from the same accountant to be the independent auditor saying his was the only bid to consider because he was doing a good job and was the least expensive.
Certified Public Accountant Dan Painter of El Paso was the independent auditor for Hudspeth County for ten years. His last audit was for the 2001-2002 county budget. He submitted a proposal in the summer of 2003 to be the auditor again for the 2002-2003 fiscal year.
Hudspeth County Judge Becky Dean-Walker confronted Certified Public Accountant Dan Painter and told him he should have caught this theft from the county during his audits. He eventually withdrew his proposal and has not submitted one since.
Certified Public Accountant Dan Painter of El Paso has audited every City of Marfa budget since the 2001-2002 fiscal year for a fee of $13,000 per year plus additional consulting fees. Marfa City Administrator Florencio Sauceda "strongly recommends" CPA Dan Painter to be the independent auditor for Marfa's 2005-2006 fiscal year budget which closes on September 30, 2006.
So I took this comment about Mr. Painter seriously and decided to do a little research. I interviewed Kay Scarbrough, Hudspeth County Tax Assessor, and Judge Becky Dean-Walker, Hudspeth County Judge.
On August 22, 2003 Eva Tarango was indicted for theft by the district judge in El Paso. She was the internal auditor for Hudspeth County. She pled guilty and was fined $8,000 and five years deferred probation. She had been the internal auditor for the county for eighteen years and was paid approximately $23,000 per year. She also was the indigent coordinator for the county and received an additional $1,800 per month. She also convinced the county commissioners to giver her another $4,000 per year supplement. She also convinced the county commissioners to make her the county purchasing agent!
Becky Dean-Walker became County Judge of Hudspeth County on December 1st, 2002. By her own admission, she did not know how to read a budget when she took office. She studied the budget and quickly began to find irregularities. The previous county treasurer had tried to report problems with Eva Tarango but was not successful. Judge Dean-Walker contacted the Texas Rangers. They would not investigate unless the county proved that at least $1,500 was missing. The judge found that amount. A Texas Ranger was sent to Hudspeth County.
He only examined the previous two years before Eva Tarango was indicted. They had identified $8,000 as missing by cancelled checks. Eventually, they identified much more stolen in the previous two years alone. Judge Dean-Walker believes Eva Tarango may have stolen more during the investigation.
The district attorney's office in El Paso tried to contact the Hudspeth county attorney, but he was traveling in California. Judge Dean-Walker was out sick for a couple of days. When she returned, the county clerk informed her that Eva Tarango had been appointed an attorney by the court (at an eventual cost of $3,000 to the county). Judge Dean-Walker contacted the district attorney's office in El Paso immediately and learned that Eva Tarango pled guilty that morning without any involvement of officials from Hudspeth County.
According to the Hudspeth County investigation, Eva Tarango purchased goods at stores in El Paso and other cities as purchasing agent including household cleaning supplies, cigarettes, house plants, children's clothing, tires worth $1100 and Christmas decorations. She concealed these thefts by cutting the tops off some receipts and stapling stacks of receipts with as many as thirty staples to make it difficult to audit. She was gambling online with the county credit card. She was making false entries for expenses that did not happen.
Eva Tarango retained her keys to the courthouse for three days after her indictment. She was removed with pay on August 25th, and on September 15, 2003 she signed her own retirement papers. She still draws full retirement pay.
Every year she would bring in a proposal from the same accountant to be the independent auditor saying his was the only bid to consider because he was doing a good job and was the least expensive.
Certified Public Accountant Dan Painter of El Paso was the independent auditor for Hudspeth County for ten years. His last audit was for the 2001-2002 county budget. He submitted a proposal in the summer of 2003 to be the auditor again for the 2002-2003 fiscal year.
Hudspeth County Judge Becky Dean-Walker confronted Certified Public Accountant Dan Painter and told him he should have caught this theft from the county during his audits. He eventually withdrew his proposal and has not submitted one since.
Certified Public Accountant Dan Painter of El Paso has audited every City of Marfa budget since the 2001-2002 fiscal year for a fee of $13,000 per year plus additional consulting fees. Marfa City Administrator Florencio Sauceda "strongly recommends" CPA Dan Painter to be the independent auditor for Marfa's 2005-2006 fiscal year budget which closes on September 30, 2006.
posted by RobC at 12:36 PM
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