Convention authority officials are sorry because they got caught
The mea culpas from Rossi Ralenkotter and Lawrence Weekly fall on my skeptical ears (“LVCVA misused cards,” Thursday Review-Journal). Neither of these men who misappropriated convention authority funds is naïve. They are, or should be, fully aware of the improprieties involved in the use of agency funds for private purposes. Accepting “full responsibility” for the misappropriation of funds and returning the funds shouldn’t wipe the slate clean. These funds were returned because they got caught.
The Review-Journal reported, “There were no rules prohibiting the use of the cards for personal travel, the report said.” This is ridiculous. No one should need a rule prohibiting the use of agency funds for personal use. This is just plain ethics, doing what is right.
The misuse of these Southwest Airlines gift cards is just the tip of the iceberg. Auditors need to keep digging.
