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Pr. George's Audit Cites Lax Land-Deal Protocol
County Executive Jack B. Johnson, center, has denied involvement in land deals that favored friends. He is pictured during an unrelated news briefing this summer with county officials Gregory Harris, left, and Vernon Herron.
(By Richard A. Lipski -- The Washington Post)
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Jacqueline Brown, whom Johnson named as acting executive director of the Redevelopment Authority, declined to comment on the audit yesterday. She also serves as Johnson's chief administrative officer.
Steve Paul, the authority's associate director, said he was "not allowed" to comment. "I can't say anything about it," Paul said.
The chairman of the Redevelopment Authority, Charles Samuel, also declined to comment.
One contract discussed in the audit report, involving property at 210 Maryland Park Dr. in Capitol Heights, was signed in 2006 with Mirza Baig, a Laurel doctor and a former business partner of Johnson's who has held political fundraisers for him. The authority told auditors that the deal had been terminated but could provide no documentation.
In that instance, county officials said they "misplaced" a deposit check, which records show should have been for $52,000. They also could not produce proof of a deposit on another property in Riverdale Hills. "Occasionally," the authority said in its written response to auditors, its staff "could not find a bank statement."
Despite such missteps, the authority told auditors that its system for keeping records of transactions is adequate. But auditors said the document provided to support that response was insufficient. Auditors added that "we do not know when this information was put together" because it was submitted months after they had sought existing records.
In its reply to the audit, the authority also said it was drafting procedures on how to buy and sell property.
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