Maine:Paper trail cold on $19 million in federal welfare funds

boston.com ^ | 5-8-03

[SheLion]

AUGUSTA, Maine (AP) State auditor Gail Chase plans to tell legislators on Friday that she can't find a paper or electronic trail for $19 million the state received from the federal Temporary Assistance to Needy Families program.

Chase, who is scheduled to appear before the Appropriations Committee, said the problem appears to have developed over five years as the Human Services Department disbursed TANF money for grants or programs for which they were not specifically authorized by the federal government.

[Lancey Howard]

This is most assuredly attributable to the 'comingling' of funds which results from incompetence and not misfeasance.

I think you are off on a planet of your very own. I have no doubt that politically connected scumbags ran off with the bulk of the "unaccounted for" $10 million.

[LibertyBelt]

Has our citizenry become so "dumb" and lazy that when the state Demoncrats here in Maine say they will not look for the 19$, we just roll over, ho-hum??? This is totally ludicrous, and I wonder if the liberal papers will have the integrity to slam the gov till he finds the dough?

[concerned about politics]

''It's not that it has gone out in anyone's purse or in anyone's pocket,''

Prove it. Show us the money.

[Ruth A.]

'It's not that it has gone out in anyone's purse or in anyone's pocket,'' Chase said. ''The problem is when you can't tell, and when the department can't tell you, exactly which grants (go with) which expenditures, with which dollars.''

Since there is no travel log--I mean, paper or electronic trails for this money, we can assume that it individuals have used it for their own wishes and, yes, it has found way to their accounts.

[wita]

If by NP's you mean non-profits, which in my book all have the cute little disclaimer following the non-profit, my flipping rearend, that is an entirely different story requiring its own thread. A true non-profit will not have any money and especially none from government, and double especially none to pay those who ought to be volunteers, if the organization is really non-profit. JMHO.

[Madame Dufarge]

Gail Chase has been State Auditor since at least 1996.

Chase, who is scheduled to appear before the Appropriations Committee, said the problem appears to have developed over five years as the Human Services Department disbursed TANF money for grants or programs for which they were not specifically authorized by the federal government.

So all this apparently happened on her watch, while she was issuing audit reports with cover letters telling us how we should trust her, really.

[MrLee]

The local Press in Maine are all controlled by,....well, you get the idea.

[Just mythoughts]

Going to get their cut as well.

Maybe we need to send the Club for Growth back up there and run a few ads exposing how much money it took to buy MZ. Snowe's vote.

[I_dmc]

ROFL

[verity]

Is your accounting degree from Sears or WalMart?

[rubbertramp]

Remember that bailout of Spring Harbor by DHS a couple of years ago. That couldn't have come cheap. The perpetrator took off to Mass. where he had pulled off this same scam and has been brought to justice yet.