NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — Between the gavels of the state legislature, it's common for lobbyists to roam the halls and wine and dine lawmakers, but not when it's done like this.
"When an organization receives over half of their money from the government, they must be very careful about how they’re spending that money," said John Dunn, a spokesperson for the Tennessee Comptroller of the Treasury.
According to their recent report, the Tennessee Association of Chiefs of Police has $63,923 in questionable spending over a four-year period. The TACP has about 700 members consisting of mostly Tennessee police department chiefs and leadership, that come together for training and meetings. But they also work to influence legislation on Tennessee's Capitol Hill.
The report found:
- $14,411 for gift cards to swanky places like Kate Spade and Vineyard Vines.
- $15,217 for individual or group meals, without any documentation for who they treated.
- $786 in gas for personal vehicles.
- $10,337 for catered meals.
- $13,426 for alcohol.
According to Dunn, lobbying groups can make those types of purchases, just not when it involves taxpayer money.
"Because they commingled their funds — government and non-government — it was not easy to tell whether government funds had been used for those purposes," he said.
Former Executive Director Maggi Duncan and other leadership also used their association credit cards to rack up a $9,734 tab that was spent on splurging themselves, like magazines that have nothing to do with their organization.
"All of which were either against their policy, not documented, not approved properly, and that’s why they end up in this report," said Dunn.
The Comptroller also found that Duncan was double dipping, using TACP resources to work a second lobbying job that gave her another six-figure salary, and may have also been considered a conflict of interest.
When these allegations started surfacing last year, Duncan resigned after more than 20 years with the organization. Dunn hopes this is a sign of a total transformation for the association.
"Make necessary changes to ensure that the spending that they’re doing — spending with government money, taxpayer money, is on the up and up," said Dunn.
A copy of the report was sent to Nashville District Attorney Glenn Funk. A spokesperson for Funk says the office is still determining if they'll press any criminal charges in this case.
If you'd like to read the full report for yourself, you can find it here.
