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GREENSBORO — The Guilford County district attorney has requested a criminal investigation into state audit findings that N.C. A&T inappropriately moved $380,000 from a campus vending contract to the discretionary fund of former Chancellor James Renick.

The district attorney, Doug Henderson, has also asked the SBI for a criminal investigation into alleged misuse of a grant from the Office of Naval Research.

"There were sufficient serious questions raised in the audit to justify an investigation of a criminal nature," Henderson said Monday. "Whether they merit prosecution is another issue that will be addressed somewhere down the road."

Henderson said he did not single out any individuals for the SBI to target in its investigation.

An audit issued last month by the N.C. Office of the State Auditor found that money from a beverage vending contract was inappropriately moved to the Chancellor's Discretionary Fund maintained by the N.C. A&T Foundation.

The money was used for items prohibited by UNC System policy, including commissioned art work, travel for Renick's wife to accompany him on university-related trips and $150,000 for an annuity for a faculty member, according to the report.

System policy requires that vending money be used for financial aid, student scholarships, debt payment or other student activities approved by the chancellor, the report said.

Mable Scott, an A&T spokeswoman, said last month that the money was transferred to the foundation because of a misinterpretation of the vending policy.

A staffer at Renick's Washington office said he was out of the office Monday. An attempt to reach him at home was unsuccessful.

Auditors also reported evidence of fraud with an Office of Naval Research grant, finding that the grant administrator paid her husband stipends of more than $66,000, when stipends before his entry into the program were less than $23,000.

The report also found the program manager hired her daughter as a student worker in violation of the state's nepotism laws and made "unreasonable and unnecessary" travel expenses.

A&T fired the administrator, Anna Anita Huff, last September. An attempt to reach Huff's attorney, Romallus O. Murphy, Monday afternoon was unsuccessful.

In its response, A&T said it and the Office of Naval Research had approved $422,415 of the approximately $500,000 in expenses questioned by the auditors.

Auditors reported two other instances that have either already been prosecuted or have prosecutions under way, Henderson said.

l Rodney Harrigan, A&T's former vice chancellor for information technology and telecommunications was charged with embezzlement last year for allegedly misusing more than $70,000 in university funds.

Most of the money came from rebates on computer purchases, which were deposited into the A&T Foundation fund, according to the audit.

Harrigan approved purchases that appeared to have no business purpose, the report said.

Harrigan no longer works for the university.

l Marlene Dillion, a former administrative assistant in the School of Agriculture, was sentenced earlier this year to a suspended jail sentence and probation for misusing grant money.

Dillion was fired from the university.

Henderson said all the findings merit a criminal investigation.

Assuming the SBI is willing to undertake the investigation, Henderson said the next step is to wait for the bureau to finish its report.

"At some point, a report will be sent to me and we'll make a decision whether any prosecutions are called for."

Contact Lanita Withers at 373-7071 or lwithers@news-record.com