Carlisle's beleaguered tax collector is facing new allegations. An interim audit conducted by the Cumberland County Controller says $20,000 in cash tax collection payments are unaccounted for.
George Hicks was arrested last month for selling marijuana to an undercover cop on two occasions. Citing the public concern, the District Attorney struck a deal where Hicks will not carry out his duties until the conclusion of the criminal proceedings.
Carlisle Police served the search warrant looking for electronic records and data, files and records of tax collection transactions. They are specifically looking into his personal computer and a laptop.
After the borough accepted tax collection responsibilities, the county controller began conducting an audit of the 2012 tax collection activities of Hicks. A resident, who paid his taxes with cash, discovered that records of Hicks' office show the bill remains unpaid.
Auditors next compared recorded cash collections through August 5, 2011 when tax collections were handled by the borough and recorded cash collections through August 6 of this year by Hicks' tax office. Hicks had recorded less than five per cent of the of the cash collections through the same period in 2011.
The auditors then contacted 25 individuals who had previously paid their tax bills with cash. 19 provided proof of payment this year's tax bill totaling $20,000. The audit shows that none of the cash was posted as received or deposited in Hicks' tax collection bank account.
“I'd be curious to see the full audit,” stated Attorney Karl Rominger, who is representing Hicks. “What I've seen in the affidavit is that a partial audit has been done. And they're not suggesting any disposition of funds or wrongful disposition of funds...simply that they're currently unable to account for them based on the records they have on hand.”
District Attorney David Freed says the investigation is continuing and could lead to additional search warrants for records held by third parties. Meanwhile, Hicks continues to collect salary and commissions totaling $28,000 a year while not performing the duties of Carlisle tax collector.
George Hicks was arrested last month for selling marijuana to an undercover cop on two occasions. Citing the public concern, the District Attorney struck a deal where Hicks will not carry out his duties until the conclusion of the criminal proceedings.
Carlisle Police served the search warrant looking for electronic records and data, files and records of tax collection transactions. They are specifically looking into his personal computer and a laptop.
After the borough accepted tax collection responsibilities, the county controller began conducting an audit of the 2012 tax collection activities of Hicks. A resident, who paid his taxes with cash, discovered that records of Hicks' office show the bill remains unpaid.
Auditors next compared recorded cash collections through August 5, 2011 when tax collections were handled by the borough and recorded cash collections through August 6 of this year by Hicks' tax office. Hicks had recorded less than five per cent of the of the cash collections through the same period in 2011.
The auditors then contacted 25 individuals who had previously paid their tax bills with cash. 19 provided proof of payment this year's tax bill totaling $20,000. The audit shows that none of the cash was posted as received or deposited in Hicks' tax collection bank account.
“I'd be curious to see the full audit,” stated Attorney Karl Rominger, who is representing Hicks. “What I've seen in the affidavit is that a partial audit has been done. And they're not suggesting any disposition of funds or wrongful disposition of funds...simply that they're currently unable to account for them based on the records they have on hand.”
District Attorney David Freed says the investigation is continuing and could lead to additional search warrants for records held by third parties. Meanwhile, Hicks continues to collect salary and commissions totaling $28,000 a year while not performing the duties of Carlisle tax collector.