They’ve been criticized in Barre for outsourcing the carving of a statue of the Reverend Martin Luther King Junior. Now the foundation planning a national memorial to the slain civil rights leader is under federal investigation.
A spokeswoman for the Martin Luther King Junior National Memorial Project Foundation says it is aware of the investigation by the inspector general of the U.S. Department of the Interior, but isn’t commenting further.
Project critics who’ve been interviewed say the investigation appears to be focusing both on the finances and bidding practices of the foundation.
Leaders of Barre’s granite industry have been among the critics of the fact that the foundation chose a Chinese sculptor to carve a granite statue of King, rather than someone from the United States.