The Nation : Statue Charges Rejected

The Interior Department failed to exert strong control over the restoration of the Statue of Liberty, but charges of fiscal wrongdoing in the project have proved to be unfounded, an official said. Preliminary findings of a government audit, to be released Tuesday, show the project’s private fund-raisers failed to comply with various regulations that would have given the department more control over the project run by Chrysler Corp. Chairman Lee A. Iacocca. But Rep. Bruce F. Vento (D-Minn.), chairman of the House subcommittee on national parks and recreation, said the findings by the General Accounting Office do not bear out allegations that the project was “in a total state of chaos.”