Newspapers: California governments misspent anti-terrorism funds
Sunday, September 5, 2004
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(09-05) 05:55 PDT OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) --
Many government agencies in California have misspent federal money to strengthen security against terrorist threats following the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks, according to newspaper investigations published Sunday.
Investigations conducted by The Oakland Tribune and the Daily News of Los Angeles found that officials have used federal anti-terrorism money to purchase equipment and cover police work not directly related to the war on terror.
The newspapers, which conducted dozens of interviews and reviewed government documents obtained under the California Public Records Act, also determined that hundreds of millions of dollars have been disbursed without giving enough consideration to the specific risks and threats facing the state.
As a result, nearly half of California's security funding through the last fiscal year, about $128 million, went to areas outside the five counties with the state's top 10 terrorist targets. Almost $8 million flowed to counties with no targets whatsoever.
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http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/news/archive/2004/09/05/state0855EDT0014.DTLOakland Tribune Story
http://www.oaklandtribune.com/Stories/0,1413,82~30235~2382597,00.html