An administrator with the University of New Mexico is under fire following revelations that he used taxpayer money to fund his Bigfoot research.
In an explosive investigation by TV station KRQE, it was revealed that the executive director of UNM's Gallup campus, Dr. Christopher Dyer, had used "discretionary funds" from the university to finance 'Bigfoot-related activities.'
Central to the controversy is a Bigfoot conference back in February that was organized by Dyer and held on the UNM Gallup campus using funds from the university to cover a number of expenses for the event.
A subsequent Bigfoot expedition by Dyer also used university funds for equipment, such as snowshoes, as well as lodging and meals.
All told, it is believed that Dyer spent over $7,000 in taxpayer money for the cryptozoological capers.
Having just come to light via KRQE's investigation, Dyer's Bigfoot spending has drawn sharp criticism from a number of quarters.
"When you're expending the resources of taxpaying citizens on what is completely pseudoscience, that's a betrayal of the public trust," a teacher at New Mexico Tech told the TV station.
Meanwhile, State Senator George Munoz mocked Dyer's interest in Bigfoot and called on him to pay back the money.
For his part, Dyer expressed no regrets over the spending and told KRQE that he believes his research has merit and is worthy of university funds.
"People use monies from the taxpayers to do research," he said, "for Bigfoot or whatever."
Unfortunately for Dyer, it appears that the President of UNM disagrees as he told the station, "the type of expedition that just took place was not appropriate and will not occur in that manner again."
Whether Dyer faces any repercussions for his Bigfoot-related spending remains to be seen, but we're guessing that, much like the elusive creature itself, he may want to lay low for a while.
Source: KRQE