Audit of Tama County Sheriff's Office turns up $46,752 missing

More than $35,000 collected by the Tama County Sheriff's Office over a four-year period were never deposited in the county's bank account, according to a report released Tuesday by the state auditor. The report, which also found more than $11,000 in jail board fees were never collected, recommends the sheriff's office should adopt stricter controls over financial transactions.

Sheriff Dennis Kucera requested the audit after jail administrator Gwen Wathan was fired last December after 11 years in the post, according to the report by State Auditor David Vaudt. Wathan had been placed on unpaid leave the previous month.

The investigation identified $35,035 that had been collected by the sheriff's office but never deposited, and $11,717 in unbilled jail fees - a total county loss of $46,752.

The undeposited collections included $18,442 for jail fees received through payment plans or work-relesase, $11,363 in commissary collections, and $2,520 worth of cash bonds for warrants on individuals outside Tama County. The discrepancies occurred between Jan. 1, 2007, and the end of last year.

A state auditor's report last year found three cash bonds totaling $6,500 hadn't been accounted for. The cash wasn't recorded on the bond receipt log maintained by the clerk's office, the auditors were unable to determine if the money was received and not deposited by the clerk, or if the Sheriff's Office did not properly remit them.

That report, released in May 2010, found receipts for an additional 61 transactions were missing, suggesting the amount of missing funds could be substantially larger.

The transactions investigated in last year's audit aren't part of the report released today.

"We were not able to make any connection between the two audits," said Tami Kusian of the auditor's office.

Additional fees collected by the sheriff's office may not have been deposited, but Vaudt said he wasn't able to determine that because adequate records weren't kept. Records also were inadequate to determine whether more people weren't billed for money owed the sheriff's office.

Vaudt's report has been forwarded to the state attorney general's office, the Iowa Department of Criminal Investigation, and Tama County Attorney Brent Heeren.

Heeren declined comment this morning. Kucera isn't in the office today and is unavailable for comment.

State Audit Report Tama Co