Randy Parton used taxpayers' money to buy booze, attend Las Vegas shows and pay his family while preparing to open a city-owned theater in Roanoke Rapids.

Records released by the city Thursday provide the most detailed accounting yet of the finances for the enterprise, which have been shrouded in secrecy.

They show how Parton, brother of country music superstar Dolly Parton, used the first $254,000 of a $3 million reserve set up by the city to help him get the theater running. Ultimately, he spent $2.4 million of that fund over two years. Complete expense records aren't yet available.

Those that were released are short on detail. A note scrawled on the cover says "deciphered as much as records were provided."

Parton's lawyer, J. Nicholas Ellis, could not be reached Thursday night to comment.

The 14-page document shows that Parton spent more than $600 at liquor stores in Roanoke Rapids and other cities. He spent almost $2,000 in August 2006 at four Las Vegas casinos: Bally's Paris, the Bellagio, MGM Grand and the Mirage. A month later, he spent $1,900 at Las Vegas destinations.

Some money went to lawyers. There's a $65,000 payment in September 2005 to Sanford Holshouser, a Cary law firm. Other payments covered gas, hotels and meals at establishments such as a Biscuitville in Thomasville, a McDonald's in Garner and Mayflower Seafood in Roanoke Rapids.

At least $5,000 went to Parton's two daughters.

"Some of the things on there didn't look right to us," said Mayor Drewery Beale of Roanoke Rapids. "That was startup money."

In particular, the spending on alcohol and Las Vegas trips drew scrutiny. "We certainly do not support it," he said.

Parton was drawn to the region, about 90 miles northeast of Raleigh, in 2004. He was supposed to be the anchor for a new entertainment complex, called Carolina Crossroads, that city officials said would jump-start the economy. Roanoke Rapids, like much of North Carolina, had been hurt by manufacturing declines.

The city borrowed $21.5 million to build the theater. It cut a deal with Parton, who performed and managed the venue, that promised him $750,000 a year. The Randy Parton Theatre opened to the public in July, but attendance failed to meet expectations. The city negotiated a new agreement with Parton last month.

Reggie Baird, a council member, said the financial records released Thursday contributed to that decision.

"There are some expenditures there that I, as a taxpayer, would frown upon," he said. "I would surely hope that the taxpayers, particularly those we represent, would get a better feel for the actions that we took."

In the contract overhaul, Roanoke Rapids leaders hired Boston-based UGL Unicco to take over management of the theater. And they cut Parton's annual compensation to $250,000. He will perform no more than 36 shows a year at the theater so that other acts can appear.

"The rules of business have changed here," said Les Atkins, a spokesman for UGL Unicco. "The new management wants to make sure that going forward, the public is best served by establishing internal controls and standard operating procedures."

(Staff writer Jerry Allegood contributed to this report.)