A new state audit finds "gross mismanagement" of a rural vanpool program by the state DOT public transportation division, and the findings have been referred to the State Bureau of Investigation for possible action.

The audit report says that:

DOT allowed a Raleigh-Durham area company, 2Plus Inc., to operate the vanpool program with 38 DOT-owned vans for six years without a contract. The company received $4.3 million to operate the program for 11 years.

DOT vans were used to transport South Carolina residents to jobs in North Carolina.

An Outer Banks resort used DOT vans to shuttle its nonresident alien workers between the resort property and local housing.

2Plus billed DOT for $163,272 for personal mileage fees, backup fees and insurance deductibles "that appeared excessive or unreasonable." DOT did not review 2Plus invoices to make sure it paid only for reasonable expenses.

Miriam S. Perry, who retired in December as public transportation division director, personally managed the 2Plus contract, but she did not personally manage other DOT contracts.

Beth A. Wood, the state auditor, said her findings and Perry's role in personally managing the vanpool contract would be referred to the SBI.

Gene Conti, the DOT secretary, today named Teresa Hart the new director of the public transportation division.  Hart, a 26-year DOT veteran and a registered professional engineer, recently served as unit head and project planning engineer for DOT's Project Development and Environmental Analysis Branch.

The search for the new SBI crime lab director is down to two candidates. There were three finalists recommended by the 10-member search committee headed by SBI Director Greg McLeod, but the director of the California crime lab, Jill Spriggs, withdrew.

Spriggs had spent a lot of time in North Carolina over the past ten months answering questions about the SBI and ASCLD, the trade association of crime lab directors. Spriggs and other ASCLD leaders made  almost monthly trips to North Carolina to visit the SBI, ASCLD (head quartered in Garner) and the N.C. General Assembly, which passed a series of reforms for the SBI.

Spriggs had complained about The News & Observer's coverage of the SBI, saying the newspaper misquoted her. Untrue: she was  quoted verbatim, as you can hear from the audio of the relevant meeting, available at the bottom of this page.

Former SBI agent Duane Deaver has appealed his firing. The story is here.

His appeal will take place in the Office of Administrative Hearings. The case may give the public a look into a workplace generally closed off by personnel laws. Deaver's lawyers, Philip Isley and Philip Miller of Raleigh, will be able to gather SBI records and interview Deaver's bosses and colleagues under oath, such as current SBI director Greg McLeod,  former director Robin Pendergraft and perhaps Attorney General Roy Cooper.

Robin Pendergraft, the former director of the N.C. State Bureau of Investigation, was honored by the sheriffs of North Carolina Tuesday at the RBC Center in Raleigh.

"While Robin is not retiring and has many years of service to our state remaining, this is an opportunity for us to say THANK YOU for her dedication and distinguished service in her career."

The Durham County Board of Commissioners will consider up to $225,000 in incentives Monday night for SBI, the biotech research division of Switzerland-based Syngenta Global. 

SBI is headquartered in RTP where it employs about 400 people on a 200,000 square-foot main campus.  It is planning a $71 million expansion of its research and development operations and is considering sites in China, Singapore and Brazil, as well as Durham County, according to agenda materials for Monday's meeting.  

"If Durham County is selected, the project will mean a $71 million investment in our local economy," according to the materials. "Company officials have stated that incentives from the local government are a key consideration in its final decision on locating the expansion, particularly considering that costs in overseas markets are lower that expansion costs is Durham."
 
Durham County staff is recommending that the county approve the incentives.

SBI researchers use a combination of science and cutting-edge technology to develop innovative solutions that help meet the world's changing needs for food, feed, fuel and fiber, according to its website. SBI was founded by leading researcher, Mary-Dell Chilton, and first opened its doors in 1984.

In addition to SBI, the sister site, Syngenta Biotechnology China Co. Ltd. (SBC) was opened in Beijing in 2008. It is the first foreign-funded agricultural biotech research institution in China, according to the website. SBC specializes in early research of agronomic traits for key crops such as corn and soybean and focuses on yield improvement, water optimization, disease control and biomass conversion for biofuels.

Two News & Observer reporters have been selected as finalists for a national journalism award for their work about the State Bureau of Investigation, the sponsors announced Thursday.

Mandy Locke and Joseph Neff are among four finalists for the Michael Kelly Award, presented by the Atlantic Media Company to reporters who exhibit “the fearless pursuit and expression of truth.” Kelly was the editor of National Journal and The Atlantic Monthly who died while covering the war in Iraq in 2003.

Two News & Observer reporters have been selected as finalists for a national journalism award for their work about the State Bureau of Investigation, the sponsors announced Thursday.

Mandy Locke and Joseph Neff are among four finalists for the Michael Kelly Award, presented by the Atlantic Media Company to reporters who exhibit “the fearless pursuit and expression of truth.” Kelly was the editor of National Journal and The Atlantic Monthly who died while covering the war in Iraq in 2003.

The State Bureau of Investigation's Financial Crimes Unit has opened an investigation into Connectinc, a nationally honored nonprofit in Battleboro that links the jobless with support services to help them get back on their feet.

The unit is also investigating Connectinc.'s president, Jackie Savage, said Jennifer Canada, a spokeswoman for the N.C. Department of Justice.

The investigation began Feb. 24 and is ongoing.

Savage did not return a call seeking comment on Tuesday.

Kevin Zimmer, Connectinc's interim executive director, declined to comment.

David Bruton, the chairman of the nonprofit's board, said he has been instructed not to comment on the investigation until it is complete.

Connectinc. has about 50 employees. The organization receives money from a number of sources, including contracts with the state, the Golden Leaf Foundation and the J.B. Reynolds Foundation.
 

Attorney General Roy Cooper released two independent audits Tuesday showing that the DNA unit of the SBI crime lab is meeting national standards.

Cooper called for the two audits of the DNA section after an independent audit showed that the SBI crime lab had withheld the results of blood tests in 227 cases from the 1980s through 2003. (Chris Swecker, who headed the independent audit, told The N&O Tuesday that two more cases were removed from his audit, bringing the number from 229 to 227.)

The October audit, conducted by members of the Kentucky State Police Forensics Lab, found two problems. The lab hadn't set expiration dates for some chemicals that lacked a manufacturer's expiration date, which is important because bad reagents can ruin a test.

The lab did not require the review of all standards and controls to see if expected results were obtained. The auditors found that the crime lab addressed both problems.

The October audit also found many test results were were "overblown" - off  the scale. But the lab seldom re-ran the tests as rules required. The audit also found that analysts were overusing the word "artifact" when the use did not fit the definition. An artifact is a false indication of a DNA sequence, perhaps caused by a contaminant or a problem  in the dye.  Theses findings were overruled by Audit Review Panel of the National DNA Index System.

In a press release, Cooper, SBI Director Greg McLeod and acting Crime Lab Director Joe John expressed satisfaction with the results.

"We welcome scrutiny as we work to make sure that the lab meets the highest and best standards," McLeod said.

Former SBI agent Duane Deaver has been at the heart of the many of the problems at the N.C. State Bureau of Investigation: the exoneration of Greg Taylor, an innocent man who spent 17 years behind bars; an independent audit that found 229 cases where blood test results were withheld or misstated; the bloodstain pattern analysis group that was shut down by Attorney General Roy Cooper for unscientific work.

Deaver, who was fired and faces contempt of court charges for his conduct in the Taylor case,  has not spoken with reporters over the past year, until recently. Deaver spoke with WRAL's Cullen Browder in a segment broadcast Monday evening. 

Deaver said he's a scientist who's done nothing wrong, but has become a scapegoat for problems at the SBI that he did not create. Deaver said the SBI has treated him unfairly and he vowed to get his job back. He said the whole experience has been very hurtful.

"I'm telling you I didn't do anything wrong, and yet, my career is over."

Does he think Greg Taylor is innocent?
"That's not my job. I'd hate to think that anyone would be put in prison who is innocent and that I would be part of that."

His report in the case said there were chemical indications of blood on Taylor's car. The report did not mention that subsequent, confirmatory tests for blood were negative. Deaver defended that report as scientifically accurate.

"Never would was it considered on my part that we were withholding anything.
That's not the way we did business or wanted to do business."

And he said he didn't think his work led to Taylor's conviction.

"I think it's mistaken. I think it's mistaken to think that my report was the reason he was convicted."

That's not the opinion of Taylor, who blames Deaver's report for his conviction.
WRAL said it would publish the entire interview later this week. We're curious to see if Deaver was asked about his bloodstain pattern analysis work, particularly in the Kirk Turner case. Or the George Goode case, where a federal judge scolded him for  giving false and misleading testimony.

Deaver's lawyer, Phillip Isley, said Deaver would not be giving any more interviews.