THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, August 9, 1995 TAG: 9508090408
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY KAREN JOLLY DAVIS, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: ACCOMAC LENGTH: Medium: 57 lines
Accomack County's supervisors continued to dispense tax money to individuals, churches and private businesses even after the county attorney warned that the practice was illegal, say indictments against all nine board members.
The indictments, returned by a grand jury on Monday, allege that each supervisor ``did commit malfeasance in office when he unlawfully, willfully and corruptly continued to use a discretionary fund . . . after an express admonition from the County Attorney that such a fund was prohibited by law.''
But Thomas B. Dix Jr., the county attorney, wasn't commenting Tuesday on the advice he gave the board.
``As I have maintained throughout this investigation, it is improper for me to divulge the substance of any legal advice that I may or may not have given my client, the Accomack County Board of Supervisors,'' Dix said in a statement.
The supervisors, the county's governing officials, are accused in the indictments of having dipped into discretionary funds of $15,000 each - or a total of $135,000 - to dispense money as each saw fit.
The indictments, sought by a special prosecutor, come after the Accomack County Taxpayers Association reported on how money was spent from the discretionary funds.
Each supervisor was charged with one count of malfeasance in office, a misdemeanor punishable by up to 12 months in jail and a $2,500 fine.
The taxpayers group said Supervisor Paul Merritt spent $17,450 to repair private roads on Chincoteague, and another $1,409 for a personal computer. Supervisor C.D. Fleming Jr. allegedly spent $13,896 on wells, home repairs and delinquent gas bills at properties occupied by three individuals.
In addition to Merritt and Fleming, members of the board include: Laura Belle Gordy, Gregory Duncan, William D. Sawyer, Thomas J. Matthews, Julia E. Major, Donald L. Hart Jr. and Kenneth S. Turner.
Jim Williams, a spokesman for the taxpayers association, said use of the discretionary funds was a method of influencing votes.
``It's the power to tell people, `I did this for you,' '' Williams said.
After the taxpayers association released its report last September, state police started an investigation. At that point, the board dissolved the discretionary funds.
The probe included the appointment of a special prosecutor, George C. Fairbanks IV, commonwealth's attorney in Williamsburg. Fairbanks did not return calls Tuesday.
County Administrator Art Fisher said the indictments will have little effect on day-to-day operations of Accomack County.
``It's a cloud hanging over us, but we'll continue meeting and paying the bills,'' he said.
KEYWORDS: ACCOMACK COUNTY BOARD OF SUPERVISORS by CNB