RALEIGH, N.C. - The former top assistant to State Treasurer Richard Moore appears to have used a state computer for political activities, in violation of department work rules, state officials said Wednesday.

A State Auditor's review of the portion of the computer network previously assigned to then-Chief Deputy Treasurer Joe Stewart found more than 450 files related to campaign activities. The files included campaign contribution mailing lists, letters to contributors, contribution spreadsheets and voting precinct data, the review found.

"The existence of hundreds of political documents on the department's computer system suggests that state resources were used for political activity," the review said.

The identity of the chief deputy wasn't disclosed in the review, but Moore's office named the person as Stewart, who left Moore's office last year to become executive director of the Insurance Federation of North Carolina. Stewart managed Moore's re-election campaign in 2004.

The State Treasurer's Office is disappointed in the employee's personal use of a state computer, Moore wrote in a letter responding to the review. The agency will continue to educate employees about proper use of state equipment, he said.

Stewart said he conducted all campaign-related activities outside of his state job and on a computer provided by the campaign, according to the review. But he acknowledged he put some political files on his computer for easy access, and only when they were relevant to both the campaign and his position.

Stewart files suggested the files may have been backed up on the department's file server without his knowledge, but the agency's chief information officer said that files on personal computers aren't backed up on the server, the review found.

State Auditor Les Merritt said in a news release that state agencies should set policies to ensure taxpayer money is used properly.

"While it may be difficult for elected officials to completely isolate politics from the work environment, public officials should make strong efforts to do so," Merritt said.

Stewart didn't return a phone call Wednesday. Stewart worked on Moore's unsuccessful 1994 congressional campaign and under Moore when he was crime control secretary.

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