Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, November 16, 1994 TAG: 9411160137
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-4 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: RICHARD FOSTER STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
The postponement - because of a death in the family of Wells' attorney - comes a little more than a week after a surprise move by Wells to subpoena all six board members, Bedford County Administrator Bill Rolfe and Assistant Administrator Kathleen Guzi. The December hearing will be at 9:30 a.m. at the Albemarle County Courthouse in Charlottesville.
This month's hearings were supposed to be held in Bedford County Circuit Court, but Albemarle County Judge Jay Swett, who is hearing the case, moved the hearings to Albemarle County last week because of conflicts with his schedule.
Bedford County Supervisor Gus Saarnijoki, who represents the Thaxton and Montvale areas, said he and the other board members had no idea they were going to be subpoenaed.
The county filed suit against Wells in May, seeking $15,000 in interest from payroll funds that Wells deposited in his personal bank account. Investigators have said Wells used the interest to buy a pickup truck for himself. Wells stopped depositing payroll funds into his personal account in April 1993, two months before a new state law made it illegal for sheriffs to commingle payroll funds with their own.
A special prosecutor concluded an investigation this past April, saying he had found no evidence of criminal wrongdoing against Wells. The sheriff has countersued the board for almost $8,000 in legal fees he spent at an outside firm because County Attorney John Overstreet had refused him counsel.
"Basically, we just want to know whose money this is," Saarnijoki said. "We know there was no criminal intent." Saarnijoki said informal meetings earlier this month between the county's special attorney, David Shreve, and Wells' attorney, John Alford, failed to produce a settlement.
As for Wells' claims that he should be reimbursed for his legal expenses, Saarnijoki disagrees. "According to the Code of Virginia, he would have had to be indicted or have charges be brought against him,'' Saarnijoki said. ``Then, if he was found not guilty, we'd have been liable for his expenses. But this was only an investigation. No charges were brought against him."
Wells had no comment about the lawsuits.
by CNB