THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, July 4, 1996 TAG: 9607040553
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B3 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY ALETA PAYNE, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: VIRGINIA BEACH LENGTH: 44 lines
Misdemeanor malfeasance charges against School Board member Tim Jackson and former board member Ferdinand V. Tolentino will not be dismissed, a Circuit Court judge has decided.
Attorneys for all sides were notified Wednesday by Judge Glen Tyler that he had not found sufficient grounds to dismiss the charges based on issues raised by the defense.
Tyler has not yet decided whether he will dismiss conflict-of-interest and failure-to-disclose charges that Jackson and Tolentino are scheduled to face in a separate trial. It is not clear when he will rule on those charges.
James O. Broccoletti, Tolentino's attorney, said the judge's decision was not a surprise.
``It's very difficult to dismiss a case pre-trial,'' he said. ``This really doesn't affect our defense strategy. We look forward to the trial to vindicate Ferdie.''
Jackson and Tolentino are scheduled to go on trial in August on malfeasance charges related to a school division deficit incurred while they were on the School Board.
A trial is set for September on the conflict-of-interest and failure-to-disclose charges related to the two men's participation in a board vote to have the school division pay some of their attorneys' fees.
Stallings had challenged the charges in motions filed in May. In an effort to get the charges dismissed and have Commonwealth's Attorney Robert J. Humphreys removed from the case, Stallings contended that Humphreys' actions showed personal vindictiveness. And he argued in a hearing before Tyler last week that Humphreys had threatened Jackson with more serious charges if he did not resign from the School Board.
Tyler was unavailable for comment Wednesday. However, during last week's hearing, Tyler said he was concerned enough to take dismissing the charges against both men under advisement.
Humphreys said the ruling to proceed with the charge was not unexpected.
In February, a special grand jury investigating a $12.1 million budget shortfall for the 1994-95 fiscal year called on seven board members to resign or face malfeasance charges. Although all denied malfeasance, five resigned. Jackson and Tolentino remained, saying they wanted to defend their names. Tolentino's term on the board has since expired, but Jackson has another two years to serve. by CNB