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Update: Sickle Cell Subpoena
posted at 2007-06-08 19:25 | Last modified 2007-11-14 10:38
According to Ryan Teague Beckwith at the Legion of Dome, a Cumberland County judge sided with investigators this afternoon, upholding the subpoena for the books, records, and computers of Operation Sickle Cell. The entry's here.
I spoke with the Fayetteville Observer's court reporter Paul Woolverton about today's hearing. He explained that OSC's lawyers tried to block the subpoenas on the grounds that the computers' hard drives contain patient information protected by privacy laws - and also that removing the computers from the non-profit would essentially shut the place down.
Neither argument apparently swayed Superior Court Judge Lynn Johnson, who ruled against OSC lawyers and upheld the Auditor's subpoenas.
FayO's John Fuquay should have more on this over the weekend. I'll post a link when I find one.
Meanwhile, back at the ranch
This is just about the last thing House Democrats need. One member - Thomas Wright - is already under criminal investigation. Now Mary McAllister, who's already the subject of a State Board of Elections probe, is forced by the courts to hand over the books of the non-profit she leads.
Operation Sickle Cell receives significant state funding - more than $300,000 last year - due in no small part to McAllister's advocacy efforts on Jones St. And those efforts aren't pro bono, either. McAllister makes $115K a year as the non-profit's executive director, a far more generous salary than directors of other similarly sized non-profits.
Does any of this amount to wrongdoing or even malfeasance? Not necessarily. But it certainly doesn't look good - and it doesn't reflect well on a caucus trying hard to improve its image after two years of probes and investigations.
McAllister didn't return my calls for comments. Nothing immediate from Speaker Joe Hackney's office either. Stay tuned.
Comments? Drop me a line.
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