According to the Boston Globe State Auditor Suzanne Bump might have the state take over collaborative after millions of dollars have been misappropriated. Private company taking public funds and stealing massive amounts. This may be the tip of the iceberg

Auditor wants takeover of special-needs agency

She recommends outside receiver

Bump found collaborative officials racked up $4.3 million in credit card charges for alcohol, golf fees, and more.

By Michael Rezendes

Globe Staff / August 10, 2011

State Auditor Suzanne M. Bump called yesterday for the appointment of an outside receiver to take control of an embattled public agency for special-needs children after her office found that more than $30 million may have been spent inappropriately - three times as much public money as earlier reports have estimated.

 

Bump’s auditors found that the Merrimack Special Education Collaborative; its longtime leader, John B. Barranco; and others spent inappropriately on salaries, inflated rents, and pension fraud, as well as luxuries such as alcohol, golf fees, and country club outings.

A draft of her report, a copy of which was obtained by the Globe from a source outside the auditor’s office, also said that collaborative officials actively obstructed her investigation, preventing her from talking to some employees and, in one instance, failing to turn over documentation for $2.5 million in expenses.

In a letter to Education Commissioner Mitchell D. Chester, Bump said that her audit of the Billerica-based collaborative found such serious lapses in “governance, management, accountability and transparency’’ that an immediate state takeover is called for.

“It is clear to me that nothing less than [state] controlled receivership of this entity will provide the governance and fiscal controls necessary at this juncture,’’ Bump wrote in the Aug. 9 letter, which was also obtained by the Globe.

Read more here: http://search.boston.com/local/Search.do?s.tab=&s.largeMap=&s.sm.query=bump+to+audit+collaboratives&s.ypsearch=&s.yplocation=Greater+Boston&when=&qf=&qn=&qc=&qs=&s.town=&s.si%28simplesearchinput%29.sortBy=&s.dateRange=