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Clerk of courts audit again draws attention to Scandale

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Washington County Controller Michael Namie’s audit of the Clerk of Courts office last summer was a bombshell that touched off an investigation by the state police and, eventually, theft and other charges against Frank Scandale, the elected officeholder.

In a similar document distributed to public officials on Monday, Namie again noted that as Scandale’s tenure came to a close, there had been recurring, inadequate internal controls over the clerk of courts’ bank account.

Just over $96,000 was missing from two dozen deposits. Ten voided payments totaled $860 for which there was no supporting documentation or reapplication of payment to defendants’ accounts.

Disbursements in 22 categories related to criminal cases handled by Common Pleas Court, plus escrow accounts and bail handled by the clerk of courts office, totaled $4.38 million last year.

In a series of audits of the clerk of courts office from Jan. 1, 2015, through last Dec. 31, the controller found there were incorrect deposits made to bank accounts resulting in overages and shortages in both the general and escrow accounts.

For example, the controller said his 2017 audit of clerk of courts raised a red flag because there was “a failure to make deposits in a timely manner. (That year,) the money was eventually placed into the account.”

When deposit errors occurred, the controller’s office found they were often not corrected promptly or properly, requiring that manual adjustments be made to reconcile accounts.

Scandale, 52, of Canonsburg, appeared last month in a courtroom one floor above his former row office for what was scheduled as a guilty plea and sentencing to include a period of electronic home monitoring, probation, community service and restitution.

The negotiated plea fell through when Senior Judge Gerald Solomon of Fayette County questioned the circumstances and said he was inclined not to accept the terms.

Scandale, who remains free on $100,000 unsecured bond, has another plea hearing set for next month.

At the same time as the June court appearance, Namie’s office was at work on the most recent audit of the clerk of courts for the calendar year 2019.

Namie recently wrote in a recommendation related to his latest audit “that efforts be made to recover” the missing money.

There still has been no answer to the question of what happened to the funds.

Scandale, a one-term Democrat, lost the election in November of that year to former Washington mayor Brenda Davis. A former Democrat, she later changed her political affiliation to Republican.

When Davis took over as clerk of courts, she chose a new bank to handle the row office’s accounts.

She is also working on reconciling the Common Pleas Court Management System software with client accounts dating back a decade and a half.

“The conversion that occurred 15 years ago was not accurate,” Davis said Monday of Washington County’s history with the statewide database. “I don’t want to point fingers. Obviously, I wasn’t there.

“We’re reconciling the computerized general account with the actual bank account. It requires a manual reconciliation. Ultimately, the computer will do the reconciling if it has all the data.”

The clerk of courts has two departments: one is collections of costs, fines and fees owed; the other deals with docketing and accepting filings.

After two employees retired, Davis said she has cross-trained her staff of nine so all can handle both departments, and she is working on an office manual as a framework for procedures.

With the filing of the latest audit this month, which, including the current officeholder’s comments, totals 18 pages, Davis said she intends to meet with the court administrator, controller, jail warden and director of community service so that fines, costs and surcharges are assessed and credited properly and as mandated by law.

“I believe all elected officials should take the job seriously as a matter of public trust,” Davis said. “I was very transparent when I was the mayor, and I will continue to be transparent as the clerk of courts.”

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