Report: Fmr. acting TBI director told employee to delete Facebook post claiming misuse of state funds, other allegations

Former Tennessee Bureau of Investigations Acting Director Jason Locke told an employee to destroy a Facebook post, used state vehicles for unsanctioned trips to Atlanta and used state-issued cell phones to communicate with his mistress, who is also a former state employee, a

from the Tennessee Comptroller’s Office stated Tuesday.

Locke, who was acting TBI director after former director Mark Gywn decided to retire in February, was reported to be in a relationship with Sejal West, the former deputy commissioner of the state’s department for mental health and substance abuse services.

One finding from the comptroller’s office states Locke’s spouse sent a private Facebook message to TBI alleging misuse of state funds. The report states a public information officer discussed the message with a TBI public information officer, and the employee deleted the message within 10 minutes.

The report also details Locke and West’s use of state-issued cell phones for personal communication. Both Locke and West installed the “WhatsApp” application on their phones to communicate with each other and made 883 calls to each other, totaling 8,219 minutes.

Other report findings state Locke used a state vehicle for a trip to Atlanta for two days and did not have official business to attend to at the time. Subsequently, West did not claim the two-day trip spent in Atlanta with Locke as annual leave.

The state comptroller’s office sent the findings to the Davidson County Grand Jury, who determined that neither employee violated criminal statutes.