Once More About the Delaware County Prosecutor and Drug Money

I had to go whoa when I saw this headline from the Muncie Star Press: Judge gives McKinney 30 days to repay $168,000.

"MUNCIE -- Delaware County Prosecutor Mark McKinney now has 30 days to repay $168,092 in cash assets and attorney fees collected from drug forfeiture cases where confidential agreements were used without a court order, in what Circuit Court 2 Judge Richard Dailey said was a violation of state law."

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Dailey also found the attorneys could be liable to local and state governments if forfeited monies were improperly held from government accounts. State law requires court adjudication of forfeitures with money going to local and state government and school coffers. However, testimony at proceedings before Dailey indicated forfeited funds were instead deposited into Muncie-Delaware County Drug Task Force and city police accounts.

More hearings will be conducted to determine law-enforcement costs and non-cash assets of the nearly 40 cases, which could mean judgments for more reimbursement from McKinney and Hoffman.