Greene County Sheriff Jonathan Benison spent $5 million from bingo operations that he oversees in the county for unauthorized purposes and has been ordered to repay the money.
The findings came in a report released Friday by the Alabama Department of Examiners of Public Accounts that covered the sheriff’s operations from Oct. 1, 2018 through April 30, 2024.
The audit findings will be sent to the state attorney general and district attorney for collection, the report says.
Benison did not immediately return a phone call from al.com to his office.
The findings included:
In 2003, the Alabama Legislature and Greene County voters approved a constitutional amendment to allow nonprofit organizations to operate bingo games.
The sheriff oversees those operations.
The money is to be used to benefit the public good and welfare for the citizens of Greene County, to supplement salaries of sheriff department staff and for other law enforcement purposes, the audit report says.
The constitutional amendment “does not provide that other law enforcement expenses can be paid from the proceeds of the bingo assessments; therefore, the Sheriff did not comply with the requirements of the (law),” the report says.
The audit initially found $5.34 million in unauthorized spending. Benison submitted information that reduced that amount by $370,383.
But Benison failed to show just cause why the remaining $4.97 million should not repaid, Chief Examiner Rachel Riddle wrote in an order on Sept. 12.
In addition to the unauthorized spending, the examiners report said the sheriff failed to reconcile bank accounts and to document and deposit funds received according to state law.
The report says the same problems were identified in audits from 2014 and 2018.
Greene County’s bingo operations have been controversial over the years.
The state attorney general’s office has opposed the use of electronic bingo machines, leading to raids and seizure of the machines, including back in 2011 and in 2014.
The Alabama Supreme Court has ruled that electronic bingo is illegal.
In 2022, the Alabama Supreme Court ruled that owners of Greenetrack owed $76 million in unpaid taxes after an 11-year legal battle.
Mike Cason has covered politics and state government for AL.com since 2013. Cason has worked as a reporter or editor since receiving a bachelor's degree in journalism from the University of Alabama in 1986….
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