By Justin Lum | Fox 10
MOHAVE COUNTY, Ariz. – The fifth-largest county in the nation, by land area, has struggled to find a medical examiner, and nine months ago, Mohave County did something even officials call unorthodox.
They awarded a multi-million dollar contract to a company that owns several funeral homes in that same county, and now the president of the company runs the medical examiner’s office.
The question remains: is there a conflict of interest?
Competing mortuaries in Mohave County say their businesses are financially impacted.
How? They claim they’re getting fewer death calls from the medical examiner’s office alleging that the person in charge is taking advantage of his position and access.
Other funeral homes, a county supervisor and a former employee address the concerns, saying there’s truth to the allegations.
Logan Elia, an attorney with Rose Law Group breaks what this means down further.
“That provision is specifically designed to prevent any conflict of interest or any acting on a conflict of interest and make sure everyone plays fair with each other especially when we talk about the distribution of public funds,” Elia explained.
