Feds audit Dallas DA’s use of forfeiture money

DALLAS (AP) - The U.S. Department of Justice is auditing the Dallas County district attorney for how it used federal forfeiture funds.

The Dallas Morning News reports (https://bit.ly/1wySr0v ) that officials from the Justice Department are meeting with prosecutors and the county auditor’s office about how District Attorney Craig Watkins’ office used forfeiture money.

A Justice Department spokesman confirmed the investigation.

Watkins lost a tight race for re-election this month after months of controversy over various issues, including how his office used a separate state forfeiture fund to settle a car accident outside of county procedures.

Prosecutor Lincoln Monroe tells the newspaper that the federal fund has received less than $100,000 in the last three years.

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Information from: The Dallas Morning News, https://www.dallasnews.com