SUNBURY – An audit of a Northumberland County row office will begin next month. State auditor general Eugene DePasquale announced Friday that his office will begin an audit of the prothonotary and clerk of courts in May.
DePasquale says an immediate independent review was necessary after Justin Dunkelberger was charged in February with felony theft charges related to his handling of the Phil Lockcuff Memorial Scholarship Fund, “We don’t know if any of the concerns with the row officer are directly related to the official function, but we’re certainly going to go in and make sure.”
County commissioners requested the audit and DePasquale agreed it was important to make a full accounting of public funds, “Mostly in this type of situation we’ll see, ‘Did everything happen with money that was appropriate?’ so, we’ll follow the money.”
The last audit of the office covered August 1, 2009 through December 31, 2013 during which time nearly $2.5 million in fines, fees, taxes, and restitution was paid to the prothonotary and clerk of courts office.
