by Jon Styf
A Tennessee Comptroller investigation into the former executive director of the Tennessee Association of Chiefs of Police found nearly $64,000 in questionable credit card transactions between January 2017 and December 2021.
Maggi Duncan was reportedly suspended from her post in early March 2022 and then resigned March 18, 2022. The organization is funded through federal and state grants, vendor fees, fees for testing and accreditation, donations, and membership dues that are paid by members’ respective governments.
The comptroller’s findings were forwarded to the district attorney general of the 20th Judicial District.
“TACP’s Executive Board has a responsibility to provide adequate oversight of the organization and its staff,” said Tennessee Comptroller Jason Mumpower. “The board should ensure the organization is following its policies concerning check signing and credit cards as well as revisit its official policy on the funding of hospitality suites.”
The identified transactions included nearly $24,000 for food and alcohol for the group’s bi-monthly meetings and annual conferences, an expense investigators questioned if government funds should be used for.
It also included more than $15,000 in meals from 243 occasions at anywhere from fast food to upscale restaurants as well as more than $14,000 on gift cards, nearly $800 on gas for a personal vehicle and nearly $10,000 in miscellaneous expenses that were not supported by itemized receipts.
Duncan was also found to be a registered lobbyist for a nonprofit that provides insurance for Tennessee municipalities, a potential conflict of interest.
“The former executive director continued to work as a lobbyist for the outside organization after she was instructed by TACP’s Executive Board to stop, and in violation of her employment agreement,” the report found. “Investigators determined she also used TACP computer devices and its email account while performing outside lobbying activities during normal TACP business hours.”
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Jon Styf is an award-winning editor and reporter at The Center Square who has worked in Illinois, Texas, Wisconsin, Florida and Michigan in local newsrooms over the past 20 years, working for Shaw Media, Hearst and several other companies.
Photo “Maggi Duncan” by Maggi McLean Duncan. Photo “Jason Mumpower” by Tennessee Comptroller of the Treasury. Background Photo “Tennessee State Capitol” by Ken Lund. CC BY-SA 2.0.
