GBI launches probe on possible missing Cairo Utilities funds

Teresa Williams

THOMASVILLE — The Georgia Bureau of Investigation is currently looking into a case involving the City of Cairo Utilities.

Ronnie Thompson, special agent in charge of the GBI Thomasville Office, said the agency opened an investigation Dec. 28, 2009. It is ongoing.

“We have been requested by the district attorney’s office to look into possible misappropriation of funds from the Cairo Utilities,” he said Friday.

City Manager Chris Addleton referred specific questions about the case to the city attorney but said he could provide a timeline of events leading up to the investigation.

In the summer of 2008, the city was converting its billing system for all utilities over to UBILL and began “seeing some irregularities regarding deposits,” he said.

It enlisted Bowen Phillips & Carmichael of Tifton to verify what seemed to be appearing and asked the company to do a forensic audit.

The Times-Enterprise left a message Friday for a representative who worked on the case, inquiring about the specifics of a “forensic audit,” but the call was not returned by press time.

Addleton said the city looked at daily transactions records in the utilities office over a four-year period, 2005 to 2008. He said this totaled 4,000-5,000 transactions, was done internally and was a lengthy process.

Around September 2009, the auditor reviewed the collected data and wrote up a report that was given to the city attorney, who then contacted District Attorney for the South Georgia Circuit Joe Mulholland and was given the go ahead to turn the case over to the GBI for investigation.

The newspaper was unable to reach Mulholland Friday afternoon for comment by press time.

City Attorney Tom Lehman said his client wants to determine if there is any money missing and find out why it is missing.

“The GBI is trying to carefully find who was responsible for the funds that were not deposited but apparently received by the city,” he said. “I anticipate that the GBI, once it finishes interviewing people and compiles its information, will present that information to the district attorney and he will take whatever action is deemed appropriate.”

Addleton said if any money is solidly determined as missing the city will take proper action.

“If there is any money determined to be definitely missing, we will file a claim with our insurance company,” he said. “All our people are bonded, or insured against theft or wrong-doing.”

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