Veterans commission chair disappointed with former director Gary Craig; attorney for Craig says state audit defames him

CEDAR RAPIDS - A State Auditor's Office investigation concludes that the city's former Veterans Memorial director, Gary Craig, spent improperly and was paid improperly while a city employee.

Auditor David Vaudt's report, released Thursday, ties Craig to $10,178 in improper spending and the report says Craig received $5,021 in income and payroll taxes as a city employee during hours he was working on veterans project unrelated to city employment.

The state report goes on to say that it could not determine if there were additional improper financial issues because of the absence of adequate records.

The report notes, too, that Craig repaid $6,800 in questioned spending back in August 2007 when concerns surfaced from the city's Veterans Memorial Commission, to whom Craig answered, and at Valor Inc., a nonprofit organization serving veterans. Craig was Valor Inc.'s treasurer.

Pete Welch, chairman of the Veterans Memorial Commission, said Thursday that the conclusions of the state auditor left him disappointed in Craig.

The report  http://auditor.iowa.gov/specials/specials.htm  said state auditors found 162 hours over 90 days from Jan. 1, 2006 through Sept. 10, 2006, in which Craig's time records showed he worked for Valor when he was supposed to be working on his city job.