Tag: Legislature’s Commission on Special Investigations

State Reviewing Water Authority's Purchasing Card Statements

State investigators are reviewing the West Virginia Water Development Authority’s use of a state-issued purchasing card as part of an investigation into spending practices at the authority.

The Charleston Gazette-Mail reports that the authority turned over its monthly purchasing card statements to the Legislature’s Commission on Special Investigations last week after investigators had requested them.

The state has also requested a receipt for a $300 purchase at Best Buy in 2012 and federal tax forms for three temporary workers.

Investigators are currently reviewing spending and hiring practices at the water authority, which issues bonds that fund water and sewer projects across the state.

The water authority has hired temporary workers and provided them with various perks including paid holidays and the use of state-owned vehicles.

Prison Chief Investigated for His Expenses

State authorities are investigating the commissioner of the West Virginia Division of Corrections and other high-ranking officials after auditors accused the commissioner of taking state money for unauthorized travel expenses.

Citing a letter released Thursday by state auditors, The Charleston Gazette-Mail reports that the Legislature’s Commission on Special Investigations and Legislative Auditor’s Office are both investigating State Corrections Commissioner Jim Rubenstein’s expenses.

Department of Military Affairs and Public Safety Secretary Joe Thornton writes in the letter that auditors flagged Rubenstein for being improperly reimbursed for a $138 March 2015 hotel stay in Charleston, even though Rubenstein has an apartment in the city.

Thornton writes that investigators are working to see if the reimbursement was part of a larger pattern.

Rubenstein did not return the newspaper’s requests for comment Thursday.

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