Feb. 20, 2004 – Sen. Lorraine Berry was stunned Friday evening to learn of Campbell Malone's indictment by a federal grand jury on corruption charges. Malone served as post auditor in the 23rd Legislature, where Berry chaired the Finance Committee.
"It's shocking to me," she said. "He had impeccable character … He worked for me for two years under my chairmanship. He would not be compromised in any of his analyses; he got into a lot of trouble with my majority."
The post auditor is attached to the Finance Committee and monitors the financial transactions of every department of the government. Post audits are run to ferret out evidence of unauthorized, illegal, irregular or unsafe handling or expenditure of funds. The post auditor analyzes proposed bills and all financial matters that come before the Legislature, including budgets and financial statements from government agencies.
Berry recalled that she had always given Malone "a free hand to do his own analyses. He was always saying he wouldn't compromise his integrity and reputation for a political job. In many instances, he was against the administration's proposals. This is something shocking."
She added: "Regardless of what anyone says, he was under my supervision. He even took on the Senate president once, Vargrave Richards. I can't remember what the issue was, but I told Richards, 'I don't tell him what to write.'"
Berry concluded that Malone was "one of the best post auditors I've experienced since I've been in office. He is the most thorough that I have ever seen do post-audit work."
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