The agency that runs Kentucky’s court system has a “pervasive lack of accountability” according to a special examination released by state Auditor Mike Harmon.
State auditor Mike Harmon says that the Administrative Office of the Courts improperly held employee-only sales of surplus property and left the system vulnerable to abuse by top officials.
“From using taxpayer dollars to buy mint julep cups, missing laptops, questionable spending on agency credit cards and leasing office space for a justice from a company owned by members of his own family, these are just a few examples of the culture that has created an absence of accountability”
The audit began last year at the request of Chief Justice John Minton and AOC executive director Laurie Dudgeon
Minton and Dudgeon were among those included in the findings, saying they didn’t properly document credit card activity.
It also reported that Justice Samuel Wright had the agency lease office space from a business owned by his sons when a cheaper option was available and that former Justices Will T. Scott and Mary Noble improperly purchased surplus property that wasn’t advertised to the public.
