Kathy McGuiness - Delaware Business Times

Government, Kent County, New Castle County, News, Sussex County

State Auditor McGuiness indicted in misconduct case

Jacob Owens October 11, 2021

WILMINGTON – Delaware State Auditor Kathy McGuiness was indicted Monday and charged in a case where she is accused of misappropriating taxpayer funds and hiring her teenage daughter and daughter’s friend for office jobs. The ...

3 Comments 421 Views

Legislation, News, Viewpoints

Publisher’s View: Recreational marijuana risks warrant greater caution

Guest Writer April 21, 2021

By Rob Martinelli I have never bought into the argument that something is OK just because everyone else is doing it. Thirty-five states including Delaware have now approved medical-marijuana use, but less than half (including ...

5 Comments 711 Views

Agribusiness, Insider Only, Manufacturing, News

🔒 Delaware set to debate marijuana legalization again

Jacob Owens February 25, 2021

DOVER – As the Delaware General Assembly returns to their legislative work in March, one of the most persistent issues in recent years is expected to return once again: legalization of marijuana. Although the narcotic ...

0 Comment 593 Views

State Auditor Kathy McGuiness unveils Delaware CARES Act Fund Tracker

Mike Rocheleau November 30, 2020

DOVER – Tuesday, Dec. 1, Delaware State Auditor Kathy McGuiness unveiled the Delaware CARES Act Fund Tracker. In March 2020, the federal government passed the $2 trillion Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act. ...

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Colleges and Universities, News

Audit: DSU lacked proper controls on purchasing cards in 2018

Peter Osborne May 12, 2020

DOVER — An audit of Delaware State University’s use of state purchasing cards during fiscal year 2018 found issues ranging from transaction reporting to missing documentation, and card usage by unauthorized individuals to internal control ...

0 Comment 690 Views

Government, News

Mayor of popular Delaware beach town ousted in election

Editorial August 14, 2017

REHOBOTH BEACH, Del. (AP) — The longtime mayor of a popular Delaware beach town has been ousted after more than 25 years in office. Rehoboth Mayor Sam Cooper, who first took office in 1990, was ...

0 Comment 430 Views

WILMINGTON – Delaware State Auditor Kathy McGuiness was indicted Monday and charged in a case where she is accused of misappropriating taxpayer funds and hiring her teenage daughter and daughter’s friend for office jobs. [caption id="attachment_216249" align="alignright" width="200"]

State Auditor Kathy McGuiness | PHOTO COURTESY OF STATE OF DELAWARE[/caption] The charges obtained by State Attorney General Kathy Jennings include felony theft, felony witness intimidation, noncompliance with procurement law, official misconduct and conflict of interest. In a Monday press conference, Jennings called the findings of her months-long investigation “a clear and disturbing pattern of behavior that was not only unethical, but against the law.” “We uncovered corruption, nepotism, fraud, and misconduct that implicated thousands of taxpayer dollars,” Jennings said outside the New Castle County Courthouse. McGuiness is accused of awarding state contracts to My Campaign Group, a campaign communication services firm that she worked with during a failed 2016 run for lieutenant governor. She allegedly informed them of a loophole that doesn’t require contract bidding under $50,000, by paying them a total of $49,900. The auditor is also accused of laying off employees during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, only to then hire her daughter and her daughter’s friend without advertising the position. She allegedly paid her daughter a state salary for months after she moved to South Carolina for college and also provided her with a state-owned car. As of August, her daughter was still on the state payroll having received more than $19,000 in wages, Jennings said. Her friend had received about $8,000. “This was done by the state auditor whose job is to literally protect your taxpayer dollars from this kind of spending,” Jennings said. “If anyone should know better, it should be the state auditor.” Jennings credited her investigation, which is still ongoing, with the “courage” of about a dozen office whistleblowers. McGuiness is charged with intimidating real or perceived whistleblowers by monitoring their email, among other measures. Jenning noted that McGuiness has declined to speak with investigators from her Division of Civil Rights and Public Trust and that she had purposefully not spoken with the auditor. McGuiness, a Democrat, is serving her first four-year term after being elected in 2018, becoming the first woman to hold the statewide office. The state auditor ensures accountability in the use of taxpayer dollars to identify fraud, waste and abuse through independent assessments, including the use of various audits, special reports and investigations of financial operations, performance management and statutory compliance of state government and to evaluate economy, efficiency and effectiveness, according to the office. A licensed pharmacist and certified fraud examiner, McGuiness was a co-founder of Rehoboth Beach Main Street in the ‘90s. She would be elected to the Rehoboth City Council in 2000, serving for 18 years before running for state auditor. During her term, McGuiness has shaken up the auditor’s office after a series of contentious episodes prior to her arrival, including the dismissal and reinstatement of the office’s deputy auditor. She paid for an audit of the office’s own work by an outside firm, which determined it wasn’t completing all of its legally mandated work. McGuiness has also edged into policy decisions, including releasing a report in January outlining the potential tax benefits of legalizing marijuana in Delaware.