The state auditor says the nonprofit organization run by state Rep. Mary McAllister has engaged in political activity on her behalf.

In an audit released this morning, Les Merritt said the hard drives of computers purchased by Operation Sickle Cell included examples of political activity on behalf of McAllister, a Fayetteville Democrat who is executive director of the organization, reports Ben Niolet.

Among the examples cited were letters to voters from McAllister seeking support for re-election, scripts for campaign television ads and logistical information about McAllister’s campaigns.

The audit recommended that the IRS investigate to determine whether the political activity violates federal tax code.

But Merritt, a Republican, said in a press release that the organization made appropriate use of state grant money and that the state-funded portion of McAllister’s $115,000 salary as executive director was not out-of-line with the salaries paid to other chief executives of comparable nonprofit organizations. The state pays $55,000 of her salary.

McAllister could not immediately be reached for comment. But in a written response to the audit, the organization disputed the finding that the agency had engaged in political activity on McAllister’s behalf.

Read more after the jump.

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Rep. Mary McAllister claims that a House bill would not have only benefited her nonprofit.

In a May 29 letter to constituents, the Fayetteville Democrat said that a 2005 bill she sponsored would have provided $500,000 in state funding to "4 sickle cell centers across North Carolina."

However, both versions of the bill on the legislature's Web site show the appropriation going to Operation Sickle Cell.

As executive director of the Fayetteville nonprofit, McAllister receives a $115,000 annual salary.

In the letter, McAllister also addresses her recent failure to disclose that she was on the board of a church-based foundation, saying it was "an oversight," and her request for a delay in her State Board of Elections hearings.

"I want to assure you that we are working diligently to resolve questions regarding the activities of my campaign committee," she writes.

A comparison of the letter and the bill after the jump.

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An attorney said Operation Sickle Cell was concerned about privacy.

Jonathan Charleston said the Fayetteville nonprofit turned over bank statements and other financial records as requested by state auditors.

But when staffers from Auditor Les Merritt's office asked to remove its computers, it objected.

The computers also contain medical records from HIV-positive clients who have received counseling, which are protected by federal law. They also contained e-mails with attorneys.

A Cumberland County judge ordered the nonprofit to allow access to the computers, but he also required the auditor's office to keep those records confidential.

In a statement, Rep. Mary McAllister, who is executive director of Operation Sickle Cell, said she believed the original request "exceeded the scope of authority" given to the auditor's office.

Her complete statement is after the jump.

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A Cumberland County judge sided with the state auditor this evening.

After a two-hour hearing, Superior Court Judge E. Lynn Johnson ordered Operation Sickle Cell to allow auditors access to its computers and other records.

An attorney for the Fayetteville nonprofit had asked for a temporary restraining order against subpoenas issued by Auditor Les Merritt's office after it refused to grant full access. A spokesman said it was the first time in a decade the office had used that legal power.

Johnson asked a state attorney to draw up a written order for him to sign Monday that will force Operation Sickle Cell to open its books.

The nonprofit is run by Rep. Mary McAllister, a Fayetteville Democrat.

The state auditor's office has subpoenaed a nonprofit run by Rep. Mary McAllister.

According to a spokesman for Auditor Les Merritt, its staff was denied full access to the records of Operation Sickle Cell, a Fayetteville nonprofit that fights the genetic blood disorders sickle-cell anemia.

The Fayetteville Democrat is executive director of the nonprofit, which receives state funding. She has faced criticism for her $115,000 annual salary.

Under state statute, a nonprofit receiving state grants must provide upon request to the State Auditor "all books, records, and other information" necessary to review how the money is spent.

After auditors were denied full access to the records on Thursday, the office issued subpoenas to Rep. McAllister, her son Delvin and office manager Rosealene Stock requesting the records and access to the nonprofits computers immediately.

An attorney for Operation Sickle Cell requested a temporary restraining order against the auditor's office. A hearing will be held in Cumberland County Superior Court this afternoon.

Roughly one in five dollars spent by a nonprofit support group went to the salary of its director, state Rep. Mary McAllister, according to the Fayetteville Observer.

In a story today, the newspaper writes that McAllister received a $115,000 salary from Operation Sickle Cell in 2005-06 — just $6,000 less than Gov. Mike Easley got for leading the state.

That was around 22 percent of the group's $523,190 income that year.

In an interview with the paper, the Fayetteville Democrat defended her salary, claiming that two-thirds of it "comes from private sources." She declined to elaborate.

The nonprofit, founded in 1971, receives state and federal contracts to provide counseling for sickle cell anemia and AIDS. (Click here to see its tax forms.)

The state Board of Elections is investigating McAllister's campaign finance reports.