Ferrell: Fund was 'my money'

An account called the "William Ferrell DARE and Crime Prevention Fund" was private money that he could use as he pleased, former Scott County Sheriff Bill Ferrell said Thursday.

Responding to a state audit that questioned how $18,200 from the fund was used from Jan. 1, 2004, to Feb. 18, 2005, Ferrell said Scott County had no claim on the money. Auditors have called for further investigation into the use of the fund and other issues.

Prosecuting Attorney Paul Boyd said Thursday that "the case is under investigation" and declined to answer further questions. Presiding Commissioner Martin Priggel said he and fellow commissioners have urged Boyd to make a thorough review of issues raised in the audit.

Funds from the DARE account paid for moving Ferrell's personal belongings out of the sheriff's office, a retirement party and donations to the St. Louis Shriners hospital and a $10,000 endowed scholarship at Southeast Missouri State University in Ferrell's name. Ferrell reimbursed the account for his retirement party before distributing the remaining money in February 2005.

"This is my money," Ferrell said. "This is not accountable fees. There are no tax dollars involved in this."

Money in the account was raised at annual golf tournaments. These were billed as "The Bill Ferrell Golf Tournament," the former sheriff said. Ferrell kept the money in a bank account in his own name. There was no formal not-for-profit or charitable organization set up to take the donations, he said.

"This is not set up to support public functions," he said. In fact, Ferrell said, he had no DARE officer during most of his tenure in office.

DARE stands for Drug Abuse Resistance Education. Police assigned as DARE officers visit classrooms to raise awareness of the dangers of using illegal drugs.

Didn't appear 'prudent'

Auditors for State Auditor Claire McCaskill and current Scott County Sheriff Rick Walter view the matter differently than Ferrell does. Auditors wrote that the questioned expenses "did not appear to be a prudent or necessary use of county funds." Walter sent Ferrell a letter in February 2005 asking him to turn over the money, but Ferrell had closed the account by that time.

Ferrell left office Dec. 31, 2004, after 28 years as Scott County sheriff. The audit raised other questions about his actions in his last year as sheriff. Auditors said there was little documentation to prove that $33,760 Ferrell received for mileage on personal cars used to transport prisoners was reasonable. Auditors also raised questions about 10 guns the department's log book records being released to Ferrell from seized property during the final days of his term.

Ferrell disputed the finding about mileage. He needed to provide his vehicles for deputies to transport prisoners because the county didn't provide enough cars, he said. Every mile was documented in requests for payment to the county, he said.

He also said the audit is wrong about the number of guns he removed from the evidence room, Ferrell said. The correct number is five, all of which were returned to their rightful owners.

"I didn't take 10. I took five," he said. "I don't know anything about the other five."

Handling of the DARE account and other financial practices under Ferrell have been the subject of past audit findings. In an audit released in 2002, McCaskill's office questioned why the DARE account was not included on county financial statements, the use of personal vehicles to transport prisoners and the rental of office space owned by Ferrell's wife.

Ferrell said he's not worried about an investigation. "I haven't done anything wrong. This is politics at its worst. Whenever you are sheriff for 28 years you make many, many enemies."

The audit showing questionable activities in the sheriff's office "wasn't surprising or anything," Priggel said. "We had talked, met with him and gone over this before. He has answers all the time."

The county was unable to force Ferrell to stop using personal cars because state law gives sheriffs the discretion to decide if the county is providing an adequate number of vehicles, Priggel said. The fund Ferrell used to pay himself for the use of the cars is called the "Sheriff's Special Fund," and a sheriff has virtually unlimited claim on up to $50,000 annually. The money is raised from fees for serving papers in civil cases and reimbursements from the state for transporting prisoners.

'Have it checked out'

Still, Priggel said, a thorough investigation is needed. "I feel like we just need to just follow the law and let the prosecutor investigate it and have it checked out. He knows how we have been all along on this thing and how we are working against it."

When he disposed of the DARE money, Ferrell endowed a $10,000 scholarship at Southeast Missouri State University called the "Bill Ferrell Endowed Scholarship." The scholarship provides an award of $500 each year to a Scott County student studying criminal justice or a prelaw major, said Wayne Smith, a university vice president and executive director of the Southeast Missouri University Foundation.

If Ferrell made the donation without authority to do so, the foundation will return the money, Smith said. "Right now I have no reason to believe it wasn't correct. If some official were to tell us it wasn't right we would return the money to where they would recommend it go.

"We are here to serve students and teach them ethics at the same time," Smith said.

rkeller@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 126