Greene County Sheriff Jonathan Benison denied wrongdoing on Thursday despite a recent audit released last week that his office owes the State of Alabama $4,966,427.69 for misspent bingo funds.
According to an audit released last week, Benison did not ensure that disbursements from proceeds of bingo operations were in compliance with the Constitution of Alabama.
Chief examiner Rachel Laurie Riddle said in an order on September 17 that Benison failed to show just cause why the remaining charges of $4,966,427.69 should not be paid back.
Benison told the Greene County Democrat in a statement on Thursday, “It is regrettable that, in the face of documentation justifying the millions of dollars of expenditures made to improve the lives of the citizens of Greene County, the vendetta of the forces in Montgomery continues. Less than a year ago, the litigation waged by the Attorney General for seven years ended with the reaffirmation of my role under the Constitution as the sole regulator of bingo in Greene County.”
“Now, here we go again: The Examiners of Public Accounts have now issued a report questioning the expenditure of money for, among other things, the scholarships paid to every Greene County high school senior and the payments made to the deputies who protect and serve our county,” he added. “They should be ashamed. I didn’t back down when they sued me, and I won’t back down now.”
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