This is Part 5 of an eight-part special series on FAMU's financial problems by the Tallahassee Democrat.As FAMU's inspector general,Michael Brown was responsible for internal audits and investigations within the university, policing for fraud and helping to promote accountability and integrity. He was to be free from any interference, able to get whatever information he needed and look into whatever he wanted.
As part of his duties in 2005, Brown conducted two internal audits - one of FAMU's finances for fiscal year 2004-2005, another on the cost of its new computerized finance and records system, PeopleSoft.
Continue reading: IG said Castell was hiding bad news
IG fired
IG's complaint and Castell's response
IG speaks out
Let the criminal investigation begin with Bryant and the BOT that served while she was IP. This is absolutely crazy that an IG can be fired for revealing the truth; a truth that could have kept us out of the situation that we are currently in today. I say insight a criminal investigation on Bryant, and members of the BOT that knowingly and welling defrauded our beloved university and the state of Florida for their self gain. After that, investigate James Corbin and the Honorable Jeb Bush for their roles in this current mess. Now is the time to start pealing that onion of corruption back and ask this former administration the tough questions. I am sure once the fire gets hot, Castell will be more than happy to deliver her allies and other henchmen/women to keep from serving any jail time (remember the former president of Morris Brown College). But if a criminal investigation is what they (the larger community wants, ie, the editors of the Democrat and SP. Times, supporters of FSU, etc) want I say lets give it to them; but they must be prepared to go the full yard and investigate the administration, BOT, BOG and the former Governor himself. If this is done I am sure questions will be answered, just not the way the above wants them to be answered.
ReplyDeleteAll roads lead to Humphries who is still making an attempt to be the Emperor of FAMU Orlando (COL). Neither Gainous nor Bryant expected this mess. Believe me, it takes more than 4 years to create a hornet's nest like this. Don't fool yourself and make Gainous and Bryant the scapegoats. Any accountant worth his degree knows that fraudulent activity of this magnitude takes years to get entrenched in an organization. Yes, let the criminal investigation begin and let it begin with Humphries!
ReplyDeleteI thought I woke up this morning and logged on to Rattler Nation, but I must still be asleep and dreaming. How on earth can anyone with a brain blame Fred Humphries for Castell Bryant firing her IG because he was reporting HER misdeeds? I guess there really are some people on the loose with IQ's lower than President Bush's.
ReplyDeleteto anon 2:16 AM that is complete bull shit. Why are people still trying to blame Humphries. Well what role do you think Castell played in all of this? Didn't she fire almost all the university officials and bring in her own people? What do Humphries got to do with the illegal firing of IG Brown and all of these high priced consultants?
ReplyDeleteThe criminal investigation must take place. They need to do it and do it yesterday. Include all the BOT, the BOG, and the Gub'nah.
ReplyDeleteAnd I'm glad to see we've gotten past that "all schools have problems" rhetoric. We who've been watching this comedy from the beginning have said that FAMU's situation is NOT NORMAL. We very well may be screwed.
To: 6/28/2007 2:16 AM
ReplyDeleteYo, get off Humphries dick! Wake up; the auditors are only concerned with years starting from 2003. This is why we are on probation!!
Hello.....hiding bad news did not start with Bryant. Moving money from one department to the next without board approval has been going on since Humphries was in office.
ReplyDeleteThe Governor and the BOG did not make 6500 dollars worth of late night phone calls, "lose" 2.4 million dollars worth of athletics receipts.... Do y'all want me to continue with the downright criminal activity?
ReplyDeleteWe need to find out who has been stealing from FAMU.
Rufus, Liz, Corbin, Ali and the rest of you thugs, I challenge you to give these statements under oath that this "FU" was created and done by Fred Humphries.
ReplyDeleteI'm with the the auditor general's office on this. Names need to be taken and sworn statements given.
We already know Castell lied her arse off when deposed by the attorneys for those people fired under the Urban Center.
And if any of this involved federal dollars, the Feds need to come and get their sworn statements as well.
This is the only way you are going to get a partial truth out of these thugs.
Anonymous said... Hello.....hiding bad news did not start with Bryant. Moving money from one department to the next without board approval has been going on since Humphries was in office.
ReplyDelete6/28/2007 9:15 AM
Can you provide the audit finding that cited this activity under Humphries? Please post ASAP.
Now remember, Humphries operated under the Board of Regents and Charlie Reed (then chancellor of the SUS) had NO PROBLEMS he could cite.
to anon 6/28/2007 9:15 AM - Did Humphries ever fire the IG? Did enrollment decline? Castell was incompetent to run FAMU and in her arrogance she thought she could run it by herself. Shame on the Trustees for hiring her and allowing her to stay!!
ReplyDeleteThe criminal investigation needs to begin with Humphries. The culture started even probably before him. A good bit of the blame lies with the former president.
ReplyDeleteAdditionally, seem like Humphries is doing an excellent job at the Law School.....NOT!
Read the any paper in the state and you will see questionalble practices started to surface back more than 10 years ago. You can deny and deny all you want, but the truth is this ship started sinking along time ago!
ReplyDeleteWe need people giving sworn testimony and we need it yesterday. It's the only way to nail some of this mess down. Straight Watergate style: "What did you know, and when did you know it."
ReplyDeleteMy Lord. SHIRLEY CUNNINGHAM and many others who were the targets (deservedly or not) of CASTELL now has more than enough juice to hit back.
ReplyDeleteWhy did the Board allow this administration to throw stones when they all were living in glass houses?
Read the any paper in the state and you will see questionalble practices started to surface back more than 10 years ago. You can deny and deny all you want, but the truth is this ship started sinking along time ago!
ReplyDelete6/28/2007 9:41 AM
For every clown that says this, I ask them to produce the documents to support their claim. Funny how everything goes silent after that.
How glad I am to know that the people in charge have zeroed in, and know who to go after for this mess.
Castell, we know you tried your best. But damn, do you still have to keep up with the lying? Just tell the damn truth. Once they get your arse under oath, well you have George Allen as your personal attorney and friend.
ReplyDeleteJune is almost over! Wow, what an analogy...resign NOW or risk being FIRED. If Cast-Hell hired you...time to GO!
ReplyDeleteIf Humphries was guilty of anything it was bringing in the most intelligent students, the corporations that brought in the dollars, and trusting his administration.
ReplyDeleteHumphries trusted the people that worked for him to do their jobs while he was out getting money for the school. What is Humphries supposed to be doing at the law school that hes not doing?
Everything I read on here indicates that the Deans of the Law School don't know what they are doing - is Humphries a Dean? I would think that after years of presidency at different universities he could do whatever he is supposed to do at the law school.
The truth of the matter is Castell was not ready to take on the job she was hired to do. She was too proud to acknowledge her defeat. Some of the people that she fired DESERVED it, MOST did not. She's gone and we must get past her administration as quickly as possible.
Dr. Ammons has a high mountain to climb, but I think he is the right man to get the job done! Lord knows FAMU needs it.
Whatever faction that wants to keep dragging humphries into this current mess. Please do it! Let's take it to court! So that we can clear this mess up! by the way, Humphries already testified under oath to a grand jury regarding the Cunningham deal at the law school. Guess what, Dr. Humphries was exonerated. No charges, no nothing. So, let's take it to court, Let's put Humphries, Charlie Reed, Uhlfelder, Corbin, Dubie Ausley, Gainous, Castell, let's even add some of Humphries peers while he was President,i.e., Lombardi, Carolyn Roberts, The Auditors during Humphries administration and the Auditors unders Castell's administration. let's blow the lid off of this thing. My forecast is that Humphries goes on with his legacy intact, as the greatest President that FAMU has ever had and Castell, Corbin and others gets charged and possibly go to jail. So if any of Camp Corbin / Castell has any juice left with the new governor, Charlie Crist, please use what's left of your political capital and start handing out subpoenas. Please, Pretty Please!
ReplyDeleteHumphries already testified under oath to a grand jury regarding the Cunningham deal at the law school. Guess what, Dr. Humphries was exonerated.
ReplyDeleteWe should also note that Humphries was not the subject of the federal investigation into the Cunningham chair. He was called for witness testimony.
Castell Bryant lied to the media to make them believe that Humphries, Larry Robinson, and Fred Gainous were actually the subjects of the investigation. She deliberately left out the fact that Bill Jennings (who at the time was one of her biggest BoT supporters) was also subpoenaed to give testimony, as well.
Bryant gave false accounts to the media to trash her predecessors but then engaged in cover-ups to hide her own misdeeds.
Believe me, it takes more than 4 years to create a hornet's nest like this.
ReplyDeleteFAMU had clean financial statement audits from 1978 to 2002. In 2003, Jim Corbin pressured Fred Gainous to fire all the senior officials in the controller's officers. The Florida auditor general cited the loss of institutional knowledge resulting from those firings as the reason for the bad audits since that year.
All it takes is one bad administrative decision to throw an university's financial books to hell. This can happen anywhere you have inept, conniving people like Jim Corbin and Castell Bryant in charge.
While FAMU slept the clock turned all the way back and they have let an opportunity to be the hope for future students slip. FAMU is now not only open to attack, but also politicians can back peddle on any visible or actual support.
ReplyDeleteIn a ruling today the United States Supreme Court said...
Reading his concurring opinion from the bench, Kennedy said, "This nation has a moral and ethical obligation to fulfill its historic commitment to creating an integrated society that ensures equal opportunity for all its children.
"A compelling interest exists in avoiding racial isolation, an interest that a school district, in its discretion and expertise, may choose to pursue."
He added, "Crude measures of this sort [as illustrated in this case] threaten to reduce children to racial chits valued and traded according to one school's supply and another's demand."
And Thomas said, "Simply putting students together under the same roof does not necessarily mean that the students will learn together or even interact. Furthermore, it is unclear whether increased interracial contact improves racial attitudes and relations."
CNN legal analyst Jeffrey Toobin said the ruling is "going to rank with the great decisions in the court's history, starting with Brown v. Board of Education in 1954."
"What this court said was even though only a few slots were determined by race, that's too many. You just simply can't consider race in deciding which school kids go to," Toobin said.
Oh, and the politicians FAMU seems to love being dependent on can't promise anything either.
ReplyDeleteThe Miami Herald reported the following:
''We will create a better bottom line for Floridians and our state,'' Crist said last week when he signed the property-tax package.
But House Democratic Leader Dan Gelber said the worsening financial picture for the state is one reason he thinks Republicans can't keep their promise to keep school funding intact next year.
''Our state budget is built on spit and paper clips, and the idea we will find $2 billion around to hold education harmless is just plain wacky,'' Gelber said.
Know another budget that's built on "spit and paperclips"?
ANY BOT MEMBER THAT WERE THERE WITH THE INTERIM SHOULD GO....YESTERDAY!!!
ReplyDeleteThe previous comment should say, "BOT MEMBERS". Please excuse the typo.
ReplyDeleteFAMU's downfall began when James Corbin came on the scene. Let us never forget that.
ReplyDeleteWho has the best alias name for Corbin?
ReplyDeleteJim Crow-bin
Boss Tweed
Darth Sidious/Sith Master
Cue-ball
Mr. Fake Grill
LET'S SPEAK TRUTH. I read in the Democrat article (of course it's buried in there):
ReplyDeleteA University of North Florida auditor hired by the board determined BROWN'S SHORT LIVED INVESTIGATION HAD NO MERIT.
Truth prevails and those who are guilty of the trangressions will be held accountable.
Castell selected the outside investigator. The accused should not be selected the person who's examines whether there's been wrongdoing.
ReplyDeleteIt's past time for an impartial outside investigation.
I, for one, wants to see Castell's a$$ strung up and hanging from a giant mf oak tree.
ReplyDeleteOh, I don't think we want to go that far.
ReplyDeleteEverything someone dishes out they will some day eat multiplied. I believe that the day of reckoning is coming for those who have because of greed or pure evil have set out to destroy this great institution at such a critical time in education for our young people.
What looks like a getaway is actually the gateway to hell.
Anonymous said...
ReplyDeleteWho has the best alias name for Corbin?
Jim Crow-bin
Boss Tweed
Darth Sidious/Sith Master
Cue-ball
Mr. Fake Grill
6/28/2007 4:15 PM
CRAZY ASS CHATTAHOOCHEE CORBIN
Considering how he seems to have sold his soul (and FAMU) for political expediency and a few extra bucks, how about Cor- "the whore" -bin?
ReplyDeleteHow about Dr. Stepin Fetchit?
ReplyDeleteCasthell also created a scope limitation on the outside investigation by preventing Brown from going into FAMU records to provide proof of notification of his audit. The SAME proof cited by state auditors in the 35 findings when they note the firing of Brown for non-notification of the audit. AND THEN SAY THEY HAVE MEMOS CONFIRMING CASTHELL KNEW
ReplyDelete10:38, in response to 9:29's comment: Oh, yes, we do want to "go that far."
ReplyDeleteAll those who want to blame Humphries should realize that Ammons was part of his team.
ReplyDelete