Former NC State Auditor, Veteran FBI Agent Team Up To Launch Powerful New Organization To Confront and Expose Public Corruption
Posted: 06-30-2009 : RALEIGH, N.C.

RALEIGH, N.C. -- Former N.C. State Auditor Les Merritt has teamed up with Dr. Frank L. Perry, a veteran FBI agent who worked for both the N.C. Ethics Commission and the N.C. State Auditor's office, to launch the Foundation for Ethics in Public Service and its Web site, http://www.ReportPublicCorruption.org. The Foundation is a non-profit, non-partisan organization which will educate citizens and public officials about the nature, causes and remedies of public corruption and spotlight significant occurrences of public corruption. Specifically, the Foundation will facilitate the investigation and reporting of public corruption by receiving tips about alleged acts of corruption, independently investigating those tips to ascertain their credibility, and passing the information along to investigative reporters or enforcement agencies as appropriate. The organization will also teach classes and conduct seminars and other programs to educate public officials on ethics issues.

Merritt will serve as Executive Director, Perry will serve as Director of Investigations and Public Affairs and Hayley Phillips Bushnell will serve as Director of Operations. Bushnell previously worked at the N.C. Ethics Commission, in the healthcare industry and as a summer intern for U.S. Congressman Mike McIntyre (D-NC).

"Regardless of whether you favor limited government or government that plays a larger role in people's lives, we can all agree on one thing: our government should be honest, effective and efficient," says Merritt. "For this to happen, there must be a sufficient number of independent-minded watchdogs monitoring our public officials. However, as government spending has increased in recent years, oversight agencies have been stretched increasingly thin. Additionally, the number of investigative reporters who serve as independent watchdogs has decreased due to layoffs within the newspaper industry, creating a target-rich environment for those few public officials who would abuse the system. We believe the Foundation can help fill that void."

"Our team has the right combination of investigative, auditing, educational and public service experience to effectively review tips, determine whether they are credible and follow up as appropriate," adds Perry. "Our background and experience will also enable us to effectively educate public officials on ways to adhere to a high ethical standard as they fulfill their duties."

The Foundation's Board of Directors has members from across the political spectrum. In addition to Merritt and Perry, founding board members include Robert L. "Roddy" Jones of Raleigh, N.C. and Kory Swanson of Raleigh, N.C. Board members from other states will be added as the Foundation expands its efforts, as will a larger Board of Advisors.

"I have full confidence that Les Merritt, Frank Perry and their team will operate the Foundation in a fair, independent, non-partisan manner," says Jones. "They have a tremendous vision for the Foundation, and they have the experience and skills to implement that vision."

For more information on the Foundation for Ethics in Public Service, please visit www.ReportPublicCorruption.org.