Auditor: Nonprofit dabbled in politics

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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Merritt took McAllister and the organization’s staff to task for blocking the auditor's attempts to investigate the organization. Any nonprofit agency that receives state funding must open its books to auditors, according to state law.

"Operation Sickle Cell is a benefit to their community, but their move to obstruct our review of their grant spending was unlawful," Merritt said Monday in a news release.

Merritt began investigation the nonprofit in June after reports of improper spending of state money and questions about McAllister's $115,000 salary.

McAllister tried to block auditor's access to computer hard drives, saying they contained medical records. A judge eventually ordered the agency to turn over the records.

In June, the state board of elections fined McAllister more than $15,000 in fines over improper payments she made to herself from her campaign.