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Arizona sheriff defends spending of jail enhancement money

Posted at 11:20 AM, Oct 24, 2017
and last updated 2017-10-24 14:20:44-04

The former Pinal County sheriff says he had the authority to spend jail enhancement money for other purposes despite an audit describing the spending as misuse.

The Casa Grande Dispatch reports that the Pinal County Internal Audit Committee identified that more than $2 million from the Jail Enhancement Fund was used for other purposes since 2013 - an action Paul Babeu defended in a letter sent to a local newspaper.

The fund guidelines state that at least 25 percent of the jail enhancement money should be used for training and that the remaining money should be used to enhance jail facilities and operations.

Babeu says the guidelines give sheriffs full authority over the funds, and the percentage directed for training purposes is "not a rule and certainly not a law."