Kapow!

If you remember, everyone associated with the West Virginia lottery, including their Gazette mouthpiece, Phil Kabler pooh-poohed Mia Moran-Cooper’s claim that the Lottery was improperly trying to control the Gamblers’ Help Network.

Actually, not only did they pooh-pooh it, they actually attacked Cooper’s credibility, despite the fact that she was one of the leading experts in the field and spoke around the world on the subject.

They combed through Cooper’s expenses, detailing the whopping $15 purchase she made for lunch at the Cabana Club (GASP!) or something with some exotic name as a way to supposedly discredit her as she traveled the globe to exotic locals such as… Kansas City.

Needless to say, Moran-Cooper handled these attacks as she handled her job over the course of years, with dignity and class and, well, the facts that supported her case.

And, eventually, the facts proved her correct as a Legislative Audit ripped the Lottery for their heavy-handedness in trying to run the Gamblers’ Hotline.

Oh, and credit here goes to the Legislative Auditors. These guys are professionals and while many of the Moran-Cooper supporters stated their concern over the Legislature doing the audit, my point was that those auditors are straight-up and just go out and do the job they are being requested to do.

This is a case of them simply getting to the bottom of this mess.

And, congrats to Mia Moran-Cooper for her bringing to light what the auditors later found.

Below is the AP article that details the Audit that came to me via email a few days ago….

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Tuesday January 8, 2008
Audit faults Lottery for handling of gambler helpline
by The Associated Press

West Virginia’s Lottery Commission has meddled with the state program that offers confidential help to problem gamblers, an audit presented to lawmakers concluded.

The commission sought to influence the advertising of the Problem Gamblers Help Network, though it has no authority to do so, a joint House-Senate meeting of legislators was told Monday.

The audit said the commission also tried to get the names of agency staff members who may have called the program’s hot line. State law bars staff members from playing lottery games. But auditors note that the Help Network is confidential and deals with all forms of gambling.

The findings echo complaints by Mia Moran-Cooper, the program’s longtime director who was ousted last year. Commission officials disagreed with the key findings and objected to the inclusion of Moran-Cooper’s statements in the report.

The Help Network provides customized treatment on demand to callers to its toll-free hot line. In seven years, it has counseled more than 5,000 gamblers and their families. The network
assigns local counselors, scheduling appointments and following up on visits within 24 hours.

Auditors quoted e-mails from Lottery officials to Moran-Cooper seeking more prominent displays of the agency name or logo on billboards and other advertising.

“This influence could be considered a conflict of interest since the Lottery Commission’s mission is to maximize revenues,” the report said. “It was not the intention of the Legislature for the Lottery Commission to administer, provide oversight or directly be involved in the operation of a gambling treatment program.”

The Lottery funds the program with gambling revenues. First Choice Health Systems, which employed Moran-Cooper, held the contract to run the Help Network.

The Department of Health and Human Resources had overseen the contract for the Lottery since 2003. The commission took over those administrative duties in June, raising concerns among some lawmakers.

In its written response to the audit, the commission questions whether the e-mails are evidence of meddling.

“The former executive director frequently called upon the Lottery Commission’s deputy director for marketing to provide input regarding media placement,” it said.

Lottery officials also disagree with the audit’s recommendation that the Help Network stop using the agency’s logo.

“To the public, the logo signifies that the Problem Gamblers Help Network is the official, state-supported program,” they wrote.

As for any agency staff members seeking help from the network, Lottery officials said their deputy security director asked for names but then “canceled the request immediately after receiving advice of counsel.”

The audit notes that First Choice refused to release the confidential information.

The Lottery’s response also cites an earlier legislative audit of the Help Network, which found incidents of inappropriate spending, overbillings for treating patients and undocumented or mislabeled expenses.