DUBOIS, Pa. — On an otherwise routine Tuesday in early May, DuBois’ solicitor showed up at City Hall with $93,920 in cash tucked inside a cardboard box and packaged in a gift bag.
(Photo: On an otherwise routine Tuesday in early May, DuBois’ solicitor showed up at City Hall with $93,920 in cash tucked inside a cardboard box and packaged in a gift bag. Photo credit: Min Xian / Spotlight PA)
Article by Angela Couloumbis of Spotlight PA and Min Xian of Spotlight PA State College
The solicitor, Toni Cherry, pulled DuBois’ Interim City Manager Chris Nasuti and Police Chief Blaine Clark out of a meeting. According to Nasuti, she handed the gift bag to the two men and told them that the cash — in bills of $20s, $50s, and $100s — belonged to the city. She advised them to deposit the money and did not explain why or how it came into her possession.
“Of course, it was a surprise,” Nasuti told Spotlight PA. He said he and Clark immediately put the cash into a new bank account isolated from other city funds, and alerted the state attorney general’s office.
Carol E. Roland, a partner and certified public accountant with Trout CPA in Lancaster, echoed that sentiment. That the city did not take corrective action after its audits highlighted potential problems signals “a breakdown with the city government,” she said.
“That is a city internal control problem,” said Roland, whose practice areas now include fraud investigations and fraud risk management. “The internal control is the responsibility of the city’s management team.”
Strong internal controls become even more important because there is no state entity that oversees how local governments are run, Primm said.
It is why, he told Spotlight PA, his association “preaches the gospel to have good professional management.”
In the recent primary election, city residents registered their apparent dissatisfaction with the way DuBois’ government has been run.
Though the outcome may not be certified until next month, unofficial results show three incumbent members of City Council, including the mayor, were trailing significantly in votes behind challengers.
In the lead: write-in candidates running on a promise to “restore integrity and trust.”
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