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http://home.hamptonroads.com/stories/print.cfm?story=86908&ran=139184
The link above tells the tale.
An investigation by The Virginian-Pilot earlier this year revealed a number of spending improprieties at the game department, including extensive travel at a time when state officials were asked to curb spending, and lax control of state charge-card use.
The state report released Tuesday echoed those findings and concluded that top agency officials regularly used state property for personal use, intimidated whistle-blowers and ignored state policies for hiring and promoting game wardens.
Hoffler and Woodfin were criticized for asking state employees to edit video shot during a 2003 safari Hoffler took to Africa. The audit calculated that state workers spent 131 hours to produce a polished DVD called ?Charging Rhino,? ostensibly to promote hunting. The auditor estimated that the DVD, copyrighted to Hoffler, cost the agency at least $4,200 to produce. Hoffler later paid the agency $500 for the work.
The audit faulted Woodfin, Bradbery, Caison and Hoffler, a principal in the Virginia Beach-based development corporation Armada/Hoffler, for the appearance of a conflict of interest. In 2004 Hoffler gave the men almost $50,000 worth of gifts, and allowed Caison and another game warden to keep personal boats at his Eastern Shore estate.
The report also said that at Caison?s request, two personal watercraft and an all-terrain vehicle were purchased and then stationed at Hoffler?s waterfront home on the Eastern Shore.
In one of its conclusions, the audit recommended that the agency disband its unique ?executive protection unit.? The unit was designed to protect board members from threats, but the report found ?there have been no instances identified where the board members were in any way threatened.?
Game wardens assigned to the unit last year provided security at Hoffler?s annual dove hunt on the Eastern Shore, according to the report. The dove hunt attracts elected state leaders and influential businessmen from around the state.
The report questioned spending practices for an elite team of game wardens, known as the special law assistance program or SLAP team, which received $80,000 in high-end equipment during a recent 18-month period. ?There is little monitoring oversight performed on purchases made for the SLAP team,? the audit said.
On a broader scale, the auditor found many unnecessary purchases labeled for ?field testing.? For example, Bradbery, Caison and SLAP team member Steve Pike spent $5,200 to purchase 42 knives in a nine-month period supposedly to determine which knife was best for game wardens.
In another instance, Woodfin, Bradbery, Caison and Pike spent $460 on new jackets to appear in a documentary film on a covert operation. The report said the men wanted to ?look uniform? for their appearance.
The report concludes that ?there is an atmosphere of free spending for some individuals within the Law Enforcement Division with limited standards and policies to guide spending decisions and limited review by supervisors in many cases.? It calls for individuals to reimburse the state for unnecessary clothing purchases.
By a unanimous vote Tuesday afternoon, the board agreed to investigate issues raised in the audit, and develop a manual to state clear standards for spending, ethics and personnel management. The state mandates that new procedures be in place by the end of the year.
Murphy said the department, which reports to his office and to a board of directors, had an unclear chain of command.
?Nobody knows who?s in control,? he said.
The link above tells the tale.
An investigation by The Virginian-Pilot earlier this year revealed a number of spending improprieties at the game department, including extensive travel at a time when state officials were asked to curb spending, and lax control of state charge-card use.
The state report released Tuesday echoed those findings and concluded that top agency officials regularly used state property for personal use, intimidated whistle-blowers and ignored state policies for hiring and promoting game wardens.
Hoffler and Woodfin were criticized for asking state employees to edit video shot during a 2003 safari Hoffler took to Africa. The audit calculated that state workers spent 131 hours to produce a polished DVD called ?Charging Rhino,? ostensibly to promote hunting. The auditor estimated that the DVD, copyrighted to Hoffler, cost the agency at least $4,200 to produce. Hoffler later paid the agency $500 for the work.
The audit faulted Woodfin, Bradbery, Caison and Hoffler, a principal in the Virginia Beach-based development corporation Armada/Hoffler, for the appearance of a conflict of interest. In 2004 Hoffler gave the men almost $50,000 worth of gifts, and allowed Caison and another game warden to keep personal boats at his Eastern Shore estate.
The report also said that at Caison?s request, two personal watercraft and an all-terrain vehicle were purchased and then stationed at Hoffler?s waterfront home on the Eastern Shore.
In one of its conclusions, the audit recommended that the agency disband its unique ?executive protection unit.? The unit was designed to protect board members from threats, but the report found ?there have been no instances identified where the board members were in any way threatened.?
Game wardens assigned to the unit last year provided security at Hoffler?s annual dove hunt on the Eastern Shore, according to the report. The dove hunt attracts elected state leaders and influential businessmen from around the state.
The report questioned spending practices for an elite team of game wardens, known as the special law assistance program or SLAP team, which received $80,000 in high-end equipment during a recent 18-month period. ?There is little monitoring oversight performed on purchases made for the SLAP team,? the audit said.
On a broader scale, the auditor found many unnecessary purchases labeled for ?field testing.? For example, Bradbery, Caison and SLAP team member Steve Pike spent $5,200 to purchase 42 knives in a nine-month period supposedly to determine which knife was best for game wardens.
In another instance, Woodfin, Bradbery, Caison and Pike spent $460 on new jackets to appear in a documentary film on a covert operation. The report said the men wanted to ?look uniform? for their appearance.
The report concludes that ?there is an atmosphere of free spending for some individuals within the Law Enforcement Division with limited standards and policies to guide spending decisions and limited review by supervisors in many cases.? It calls for individuals to reimburse the state for unnecessary clothing purchases.
By a unanimous vote Tuesday afternoon, the board agreed to investigate issues raised in the audit, and develop a manual to state clear standards for spending, ethics and personnel management. The state mandates that new procedures be in place by the end of the year.
Murphy said the department, which reports to his office and to a board of directors, had an unclear chain of command.
?Nobody knows who?s in control,? he said.
