THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, December 15, 1995 TAG: 9512150478
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: NORTH CAROLINA
SOURCE: BY DENNIS PATTERSON, ASSOCIATED PRESS
DATELINE: RALEIGH LENGTH: Medium: 86 lines
In case anyone ever doubted it, a state audit of Rufus Edmisten released Thursday makes clear: it pays to have friends in high places.
More than two pages of the audit report focus on how the North Carolina secretary of state used his influence to get state jobs for Rosemary McBryde, the 23-year-old daughter of a family friend.
According to the report, the Department of Commerce in its 1994-95 budget was given a new position it had not requested at a salary of $28,168.
Sen. Aaron Plyler, the co-chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee, ``created the position specifically for Ms. McBryde because he and her father are good friends,'' the report said, quoting Edmisten.
McBryde was identified as the best candidate for the information specialist job in the department's sports development office in January 1995. The Office of State Personnel set the appropriate salary at $25,841.
Edmisten learned of the lower salary when he called to inquire about the job, the department's personnel officer told auditors.
Because Edmisten was upset about the pay decrease, the personnel officer asked for a 9 percent salary exception, which the personnel office approved.
``It appears that Ms. McBryde barely qualified for the position at ($25,841) and would not have been entitled to the salary exception,'' the report said.
She worked in the sports development office for three months, and asked for a transfer after a clerical position was eliminated and she was asked to do some secretarial duties.
She was sent to the Division of Travel and Tourism.
``According to employees with this division, Ms. McBryde had no work to do and spent most of her time talking on the telephone to the Secretary of State or other members of his staff,'' the report said.
``Again, Ms. McBryde became unhappy because of her lack of duties and because she was required to perform secretarial duties,'' the report said. ``During this period, the Secretary of State called (the personnel officer) complaining about the treatment of Ms. McBryde. He also threatened to have Department positions abolished by Senator Plyler. The secretary has denied making such a threat.''
In July, Edmisten's office asked to add a new securities investigator position, with a requested pay range of $29,376 to $46,266. The position was approved the day after it was requested.
Ten days later, at a staff meeting for the securities division, McBryde was introduced as the new investigator, a position none of the other employees had known about.
The position was posted two days later, and some applications were accepted, but no interviews were performed, according to the audit report.
The new investigator position was abolished at Edmisten's request in September after reports about his relationship with McBryde were published.
``In our opinion, this action clearly shows that the position was created solely for Ms. McBryde and that there was no real need for the position,'' the report said. ``None of the other applicants were considered for the position after publicity prevented Ms. McBryde from taking the position.''
The audit also questioned why two of Edmisten's employees were sent to McBryde's home to alter her kitchen cabinets in April 1995, and why employees on three occasions helped McBryde move. The work was done on state time.
Employees also told auditors that they drove McBryde from work to home, ``to various locations to meet the secretary'' and to events across the state with Edmisten.
``It was evident to the staff that Ms. McBryde had no official state function while being driven in the secretary's car,'' the report said.
Repeated phone calls to McBryde's home Thursday ended in a busy signal.
Auditors also questioned a trip by Edmisten to Atlanta in May for the opening of the Welcome South Visitors Center. Phone records indicate that Edmisten made four phone calls to the hotel where McBryde was staying in Atlanta.
Edmisten subsequently flew to Atlanta for the opening, charging the state $590 for airfare and $83 for meals and taxi fare. He did not submit a hotel bill on his expenses, telling auditors that he ``stayed with a friend.''
``We could not determine that he served in any official role at the grand opening,'' the auditors said.
Asked if they had identified the friend with whom Edmisten stayed, Ray Mozingo, the head of the fraud, waste and abuse section in the Auditor's Office, said investigators had not asked.
Asked if auditors turned up any evidence of a sexual relationship between Edmisten and McBryde, Mozingo responded, ``I choose not to address that. That's not an issue for this report.'' by CNB