EMPLOYEE FIRED, MATTER TURNED OVER TO LAW ENFORCEMENT
The Mid-Continent Public Library system has terminated an employee and turned the matter over to law enforcement after a case of misuse of public funds at the district.
The library district says on July 17 it identified the misuse of public funds by an employee. “The employee in question has been terminated and is no longer associated with the organization,” the district said in a press release issued last week.
The press release says that upon learning of the misuse, MCPL took immediate action and contacted law enforcement to refer the matter for criminal prosecution.
As of July 29, Independence Police Department had officially assigned an investigator to the case.
“While staff have been working with authorities and legal counsel to take appropriate action and seek recovery of the funds, leadership have released limited information in order to avoid impeding an active investigation,” states the district’s press release.
“MCPL takes its fiduciary responsibility to its community very seriously and has a long history of sound financial stewardship with clean external audits every year. To ensure an incident of this nature does not occur again, staff are conducting a comprehensive review of internal controls and procedures and will be strengthening oversight measures to safeguard public funds,” the district says.
“We cannot provide additional details at this time, however, we are committed to maintaining the highest standards of financial integrity and accountability and will remain as transparent as possible with continual guidance from the authorities,” said Emily Becker, community relations manager for MCPL.
