The Arizona Office of the Auditor General is investigating the executives of a federally funded drug task force working in southern Arizona.

Executives of the High Intensity Drug Traffic Area program are accused of using their positions to give themselves raises from 26 percent to 88 percent as part of a transfer of their jobs from Pima County to Santa Cruz County.

The raises were improper and the contract with Santa Cruz County was void, wrote Scott Burns, deputy director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy, in a November letter to the task force’s executive committee, which then suspended the men without pay.

The contract to manage the federal funds, and responsibility for the money used to pay the men, reverted to Pima County.

“They were paid out of an invalid contract, with no legal authorization,” said Pima County Administrator Chuck Huckelberry of the request the money be returned.

Pima County officials recently asked Santa Cruz County to return money paid to the executives.

Taxpayers may get bill

Pima asked for $175,715 from Santa Cruz, but has only received $62,740. That leaves local officials concerned that Pima County taxpayers could be liable for the remaining $112,975.

Santa Cruz County Attorney George Silva said he doesn’t have all the money, and is not so sure Pima County has a right to it.

“Pima County knew the money was going to be used in this way,” Mr. Silva said. “So to ask Santa Cruz for this money back is unfair.”

The drug task force funnels $10 million in federal anti-drug money to various southern Arizona law enforcement agencies. The White House’s Office of National Drug Control Policy oversees the program.

The five executives — Raymond Vinsik, James Lukash, Michael Holmes, James Stone and Betty Cohen — worked for Pima County and were paid from federal funds until last summer, when responsibility for the program and their jobs were transferred to Santa Cruz County.

The executive committee of the Arizona regional High Intensity Drug Traffic Area program approved the raises, but the federal drug office did not.

Mr. Burns has said the executives should be paid a “reasonable” amount for the work they did do.

“These employees should be remunerated for any and all services they rendered, and the Arizona Region accepted,” Mr. Burns wrote. He said they should be paid what they would have earned had they remained Pima County employees.