TEXARKANA — Authorities investigating how a memo with racist language attributed to a government official was generated and distributed say the document appears to be a forgery.

Prosecutors and state police are investigating the memo dated March 30, 2005, allegedly from Miller County Judge Roy McNatt asking for help in "getting rid of blacks" in the county's road department.

McNatt says the document is a fraud. Miller County Deputy Prosecutor Carlton Jones has confirmed that McNatt took and passed a polygraph examination.

"He was administered the polygraph in regards to the document and he did pass. It means he did not create or disseminate the document," Jones said. "He has been cleared as a suspect and we will continue into our forgery investigation."

McNatt is the incumbent county judge, the top elected official in Miller County. He is being challenged by Jerry Sewell in the May 20 Democratic primary.

During a political forum Tuesday night, McNatt announced he had passed the polygraph "with flying colors."

A former road department employee, J.O. Dixon, says he found the memo on a foreman's desk and that he made a copy. He said he found the memo March 30, 2005, the same date the memo was allegedly issued. Dixon says he has since kept the memo in a safe.

Dixon said he later fell off an asphalt roller and was injured, which led to him losing his job.

McNatt said employment records show Dixon was removed from the payroll Nov. 1, 2006. His file says he was laid off for lack of work in the road department but Dixon claims he was fired.

Dixon said he gave a copy of the memo to former County Judge Hubert Easley about a year ago. Both men say they did not distribute the memo.

"I told the state police investigator everybody is going to take a lie detector test. I told him I was ready to take it right then and there," Dixon said.

Jones said he may ask Dixon to undergo a polygraph examination in the coming week.

McNatt said that he saw the supposed memo and said he could see lines on the paper that look like the document was pasted together. He said the letterhead is authentic and so is his signature, but the body of the memo didn't come from him.

Miller County Prosecutor Brent Haltom said the memo appears to be a forgery and will be investigated by federal authorities as well. He said it could be construed as voter fraud since it surfaced during a political campaign.

The memo was addressed to Road Foreman J.W. Crabtree, who said he never received such a memo.

For more information see Sunday's Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.