The American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network will be returning donations that were made by state Treasurer Dennis Milligan and his Deputy Chief of Staff Jason Brady, money donated after questions were raised about Brady's misuse of the charity's resources, the group announced Monday.
Ray Carson, a cancer society spokesman, said the nonprofit group received the contributions last week from Milligan and Brady, but he declined to specify the size of the gifts.
"As we work to determine the facts of the case in our ongoing internal review, we do not feel it is appropriate to accept these donations. We have notified the donors that their gifts will be returned as soon as possible," he said.
Emails Brady sent in 2013 and 2014 indicate that he conducted business for Milligan's campaign using the organization's email account during regular business hours on numerous occasions, according to the Arkansas News Bureau.
The emails also show that Brady made plans for a conference call using the organization's phone system and told fellow campaign workers in an email seeking reimbursement for an expense that "for job security, my name can NOT be listed anywhere on a campaign contribution report."
The cancer-fighting group doesn't endorse political candidates, and Carson has said Brady violated the nonprofit group's internal policies in using the group's email account to work on Milligan's campaign.
Carson said that "we don't have a firm date" on when the review will be completed, "and we will not make a determination on next steps until it is complete."
Asked whether Brady and Milligan have been informed that the group will return their donations and whether they have any comment about that, Milligan spokesman Jim Harris said Brady "is out of state on vacation, so I don't have any way to determine what he knows."
"But this is a private matter between the treasurer and ACSCAN. We have no records or copies of letters regarding the issue in this office," Harris said.
Asked whether Milligan would comment about the letter after he receives it, Harris said that "I didn't say that. It is hard to comment on something you haven't seen."
On April 29, Milligan said in a written statement issued through his office that he was sending a personal letter to the nonprofit group where Brady previously worked along with "a contribution from myself and Jason for any harm this situation has caused their organization.
"If ACSCAN conducts their own internal review and finds costs associated with my campaign, I have asked they let me know and they will be made whole. We cannot see where any campaign or ethics laws were violated, maybe only an internal company policy," Milligan said at the time.
Carson said Milligan's letter, dated May 5, arrived in the nonprofit group's office via overnight mail May 14. Neither the cancer society nor the treasurer's office would release a copy of the letter.
"We aren't comfortable turning over personal correspondence," Carson said Monday.
Milligan spokesman Grant Wallace said the office had no copy of the correspondence, adding that "this was a personal letter and not sent in his capacity as treasurer, just as a private citizen."
During his 2014 campaign, Milligan promised to restore integrity to the treasurer's office, but he broke the state's nepotism laws in his first week on the job.
On March 13, Milligan signed an agreement with Attorney General Leslie Rutledge to pay a $1,000 civil penalty for violating state law by hiring his first cousin for a job paying $63,000 a year in the treasurer's office.
He paid the fine and voluntarily reimbursed the state for Sam Swayze's gross salary of $6,941.62 for the period the relative worked for Milligan's office.
Milligan, a Republican from Benton, makes $85,000 a year as state treasurer. Brady receives $81,600 a year as deputy chief of staff.
Last month, Milligan filed amendments to his campaign finance reports that show a Benton company called Your Ad Team reimbursed $300.80 to Brady for Facebook expenses on March 17, 2014, and $500.17 to Brady for "March Facebook services" on April 3, 2014.
The action came after the Arkansas News Bureau reported in April that Brady, in seeking reimbursement for an expense, told fellow campaign workers in an email that "for job security, my name can NOT be listed anywhere on a campaign contribution report." Milligan has said that Brady worked with a vendor hired by his campaign to manage "our Facebook page" and was not directly paid by the campaign.
Last week, the Jefferson County Republican Committee called for Milligan's resignation, with its chairman, Peter Smykla Jr. of Pine Bluff, saying Milligan's actions have been a "betrayal of our confidence and trust."
Milligan on Friday became a defendant in a defamation lawsuit filed in the previous week by Milligan's former outreach manager, David Singer, against Milligan's chief of staff, Jim Harris.
In a supplemental complaint filed Friday in Pulaski County Circuit Court, Singer named Milligan, individually and in his official capacity as treasurer, in the lawsuit and said the suit is also about Milligan denying his request for "a name-clearing hearing."
In the complaint, Singer said Milligan fired him because Milligan "thought that [Singer] was mentally ill and because, shortly before he was fired, [Singer] complained about using public funds to engage in political activities and harassment, each an activity protected by the Arkansas Whistleblower Act."
But after Singer's April 27 firing, he said he didn't know why he was dismissed and that Harris hadn't given him a reason for his termination. Singer, of White Hall, had held the $65,000-a-year job since Jan. 14, the day after Milligan took office.
Milligan's office has referred questions about the lawsuit to Rutledge's office.
Rutledge spokesman Judd Deere said Monday that the office "is reviewing the matter and will not comment further at this time."
Metro on 06/09/2015