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Pharmacy Board chief pays $5K fine

 

21-May-2007: The head of the state Board of Pharmacy has paid a maximum $5,000 fine levied by the Ethics Commission for illegally hiring his son and lying about it.

Mac McDivitt, executive director of the Board of Pharmacy, hired his son Lee McDivitt, an employee of the attorney general's office, with money from a $600,000 federal grant.

Government officials are prohibited by law from taking action in their official capacity that results in a monetary benefit for a parent, spouse or child.

Mac McDivitt could not be reached for comment Monday.

A contract obtained by The Clarion-Ledger showed Mac McDivitt employed his son in August 2005 for $12,480 annually "to render certain professional services for the board such as law enforcement activities."

"Mr. McDivitt had called here in April of last year to ask us our advice about this situation," said Tom Hood, executive director of the Ethics Commission. "Our investigation revealed that the facts that he had given us in his phone call were not accurate and in fact he had entered into this contract with his son. We felt like, in this case, the only justifiable amount was the maximum fine. ...

"This was not an unintentional violation."

The ethics violation was a civil matter, not criminal.

Mac McDivitt's check was received last week, and the matter was closed, Hood said.

The federal grant was awarded in 2004 to improve how pharmacies report the dispensing of controlled substances but since has been frozen as federal officials look into the agency.

Officials from the U.S. Department of Justice in September said they were auditing the board for possible misspending.

The money was frozen after federal officials looked into the purchase of police equipment and the hiring of Lee McDivitt.

Documents obtained by The Clarion-Ledger showed $10,371 was spent on guns, holsters, body armor, global positioning systems and other equipment and $8,400 was spent on trips to Hawaii and Florida.

No one from the Justice Department could be reached for comment Monday.

State Auditor Phil Bryant, whose office inventoried equipment and transferred some vehicles and firearms to the Mississippi Bureau of Narcotics, said his office is finished with its probe of the board.

"I hope this brings the findings of the Pharmacy Board to a conclusion. Our work there regarding the weapons and the vehicles has been reconciled," Bryant said.

"I would say that the ethics laws in this state are still of great importance and public officials should be aware that there is accountability existing at many different levels."

Cliff Kelly, a Pharmacy Board member, said the board has not met since the Ethics Commission complaint was settled. He would not comment.

Source: Jackson Clarion Ledger