Why did Ray County Sheriff’s Office buy beer, TVs and 76 hams? See what the audit says
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- Audit found at least $5,543 in commissary purchases, including 15 TVs and 76 hams.
- The audit found $2,993 in fees missing and not transmitted to the Ray County Treasurer.
- Follow-up praised improvements but noted unclaimed commissary funds and blind spots.
There’s still no answer for why the Ray County Sheriff’s Office spent more than $5,500 in county money on beer, cigarettes and, remarkably, 76 hams, the Missouri State Auditor’s Office announced this week.
Nearly three years after Auditor Scott Fitzpatrick released a scathing audit of the sheriff’s office’s extraordinary spending practices, the Republican announced a follow-up report on Tuesday.
The report found that the agency, now led by Sheriff Gary Blackwell, isn’t “hamstrung” by prior administrations’ mismanagement, but there is still room for improvement.
“I do wish the county had made a stronger effort to obtain restitution for the nearly $3,000 that is still missing,” Fitzpatrick said in a statement, “but I am encouraged by the steps officials have taken to protect against something like this happening again.”
The mostly rural county northeast of Kansas City has faced a series of high-profile controversies in recent years, including the mystery over the 76 hams and two former sheriffs who have faced criminal charges.
The 2023 audit reviewed spending between 2018 and 2020, and received the lowest possible ranking of “poor” from the state auditor. Former Sheriff Garry Bush led the office during that time period.
It identified:
- That $2,993 in concealed carry weapon permit fees and sex offender registry fees collected by the sheriff’s office was missing and never transmitted to the Ray County Treasurer.
- The sheriff’s office made at least $5,543 in questionable purchases from the jail commissary fund, buying 15 televisions, 76 hams, beer and cigarettes.
- The sheriff’s office failed to segregate accounting duties, had inadequate receipt and deposit procedures, didn’t properly retain financial records and incurred unnecessary overdraft fees.
Fitzpatrick’s follow-up report praised the sheriff’s office for making progress on implementing many of his recommendations to fix broken policies in the office. The Ray County Sheriff’s Office didn’t respond to a voicemail requesting an interview on the audit.
It noted that financial record keeping had improved, that it had restored most of the money taken from the commissary fund and that the Sheriff now reviews purchases and bank reconciliations.
But he also identified remaining deficiencies in the sheriff’s office. It hasn’t sought the missing $2,993, most accounting duties still fall on individuals and the office hasn’t sent unclaimed commissary funds to the Missouri State Treasurer’s Unclaimed Property Division as required.
Since Bush lost reelection in 2020, there’s been a string of controversies at the Ray County Sheriff’s Office. Bush’s replacement, former Sheriff Scott Childers, was forced to resign and stripped of his law enforcement license in 2024 by former Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey.
Bailey later sued Childers, alleging that he used jail detainees to do private work at his and his friends’ properties. Bailey also claimed that Childers allowed jail detainees to smuggle drugs, alcohol and even weapons into the Ray County Jail.
Federal prosecutors indicted Childers on five counts of mistreating inmates in November.
Bush was also arrested in August 2024 for allegedly interfering with the arrest of another man at a steakhouse.
