news-record.com

RALEIGH (AP) - Two cultural exchange trips to Europe by first lady Mary Easley and others incurred nearly $46,000 in "unreasonable and excessive expenses" paid for by taxpayers, State Auditor Les Merritt said Thursday. (Read the audit)

The Department of Cultural Resources said Easley traveled to France in May 2007 and Estonia and Russia in May 2008 as part of efforts to recruit art exhibits to North Carolina.

Merritt said the traveling parties overspent and wasted state money by requiring a chauffeur-driven luxury car in France for the first lady that cost $27,000, paying $1,170 for Russian ballet tickets and staying in a five-star hotel.

The hotel rooms cost on average $955 per person per night in St. Petersburg, Russia, while a lunchtime caviar cocktail there cost $332, according to Merritt. During the trip to France, Easley's former executive assistant expensed to the state a "Meal for 4" for $227.50 that actually turned out to be a linen jacket purchased at a boutique.

"Cultural Resources officials made a poor effort to set reasonable standards for overseas travel," Merritt said in a statement. "It's clear that meals and lodging were chosen because they met the highest quality and not because they met the standard of a 'prudent' public servant traveling on the taxpayers' dollar."

The department's chief deputy, Staci Meyer, said the agency disagreed with the findings but that all the disputed expenses would be paid for with private contributions. Other expenses - Merritt identified them as alcohol and personal expenses by Easley's former executive assistant - already have been reimbursed, Meyer said.

The ex-assistant, identified by Meyer as Vicky Huband, now works in the N.C. Museum of History.

"We asked the first lady to (take the trips) for us, and this has put her in a very bad place and for that I'm sorry," Meyer said in an interview. "This has really been an embarrassment for her."

The governor has defended the trips, which cost more than $110,000, arguing traveling in Europe was expensive with the weak dollar and that the visits can reap exponentially larger monetary rewards for the state with art exhibits.

The Easleys weren't available for comment. Seth Effron, a spokesman for Gov. Mike Easley, said in a press release: "The first lady was asked by Cultural Resources to attend, and while there, she did what she was asked to do by the department."

Using federal standards for overseas travel, the special review by Merritt's office concluded the expenses weren't in line with what was considered reasonable. For example, the U.S. State Department provides hotel reimbursements of $315 per night in St. Petersburg, Merritt said.

The review found that the first lady didn't need a 24-hour-a-day chauffeured Mercedes SUV while in France, where she and her ex-assistant participated in a Claude Monet-themed tour with other museum patrons.

The Easley administration had said such a car was needed for security, but a security detail officer told auditors said no such requirement existed for France. A trooper said the first lady rode in a tour bus most of the time, according to the review.

The French tour was related to a Claude Monet exhibit that was at the N.C. Museum of Art months before, but museum director Larry Wheeler told auditors no additional exhibits were pursued there.

Wheeler, Cultural Resources Secretary Libba Evans, Easley, two others and a state trooper visited Estonia and Russia. The delegation met with officials at the Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg and at the Art Museum of Estonia. The rest of the trip largely included touring, cultural events and meeting dignitaries.

"The value of these exhibits coming to North Carolina is inarguable and efforts should certainly continue to encourage these displays," the review said. However, it said the trips should be closely monitored because they're taxpayer-funded.

The travel issue surfaced after media scrutiny last summer.

Merritt, who is seeking re-election next Tuesday, wanted to release the report weeks ago but delayed it as his office tried to interview Mary Easley, according to documents provided by the auditor's office. The report was released without the first lady's interview.

Beth Wood, the Democratic nominee for auditor, said Merritt's timing was politically motivated.

"This is old news ... it's just a way to get people upset because it hits people in the pocket book," she said.

Merritt said any delay was caused by "an attempted manipulation of the investigation for political purposes by Cultural Resources and those they answer to."

Mike Easley is barred by state law from running for a third successive term and will leave office in January.