Grand Jury indicts 14 County and EDA officials for lack of EDA oversight

County Administrator Doug Stanley manages a smile as he and Tony Carter, blue shirt, leave the RSW Jail Magistrate’s Office on their own recognizance. Attorney walks to Stanley’s right. Royal Examiner Photos/Roger Bianchini

According to the Virginia State Police on Friday, September 20, the Warren County Special Grand Jury investigating potential criminality related to the Front Royal-Warren County Economic Development Authority financial fraud investigation and civil litigation, handed down a total of 42 misdemeanor indictments against a wide range Warren County government and Economic Development officials.

Thirteen of the 14 County and EDA officials presented themselves at the Magistrate’s Office at the Rappahannock-Shenandoah-Warren County Regional Jail (RSW Jail) Tuesday morning, September 24, to be arraigned and then released on their own recognizance. The fourteenth, former County-EDA Attorney Dan Whitten, who just took a job in Prince George County, is scheduled to appear at the Magistrate’s Office on Wednesday.

Royal Examiner encountered six of the 14 between 11:30 am and 1 p.m. leaving or entering the Magistrate’s Office. All of the six, including County Supervisors Dan Murray, Tony Carter, Archie Fox, County Administrator Doug Stanley and former EDA Board members Ron Llewellyn and Bruce Drummond, declined comment.

Tony Carter waits his turn to be processed Tuesday afternoon. Carter appeared to be the last of the 13 people who turned themselves in for processing on misdemeanor charges of public negligence related to the EDA financial fraud investigation.

According to VSP those six, as well as Whitten, Supervisors Tom Sayre and Linda Glavis, current EDA Board members Mark Baker, Tom Patteson, Gray Blanton, and former EDA Board members Greg Drescher and William “Billy” Biggs were all charged on two counts of Misfeasance and one count of Nonfeasance “based on the individuals’ knowledge of and inaction of the EDA’s mismanagement of funds” (I guess we were wrong about only malfeasance being a criminal offense in Virginia).

As Royal Examiner reported two week ago, misfeasance is defined as “failing to act with diligence that is due and appropriate for the situation” or “irresponsibility in performing tasks” by those in public office or employment. It is considered accidental rather than an intentional act, but nonetheless “blameworthy as falling short of fulfilling an official responsibility”.

Nonfeasance is defined as “the omission of an act that should be done” or “the failure to act according to one’s responsibility” of public trust. Interestingly, the definition of nonfeasance includes the description of an intentional act as “when operational procedures of an organization are circumvented for a direct or an implied assurance of personal profit.”

However none of the 14 charged Friday and turning themselves in this week were charged with the most serious “feasance” offense – malfeasance. Malfeasance is defined as intentional conduct that is wrongful or unlawful by public officials or employees.

The VSP release notes that the investigation into past Front Royal-Warren County EDA finances and projects remains ongoing. The Special Grand Jury that began meeting in early April recently requested and received a six-month extension to the end of March 2020.

Next – and Carter enters for processing.

Prior to this flurry of misdemeanor charges against public officials, five people had been indicted on felony financial fraud or embezzlement charges revolving around alleged activities of former EDA Executive Director Jennifer McDonald. VSP notes that McDonald has been served with 28 sealed grand jury felony indictments. Others facing two to five financial felony indictments include McDonald’s husband Samuel North; her former EDA Administrative Assistant Michelle Henry, business associate Donald Poe, and EDA small business loan recipient William Lambert.

VSP has been the arresting law enforcement agency on all EDA Special Grand Jury sealed indictments. The VSP release notes that the charges brought by the EDA grand jury “stem from an investigation the Virginia State Police Bureau of Criminal Investigation’s Culpeper Field Office initiated in August 2018 related to the business practices of the EDA. The investigation was at the request of Front Royal Police Department.”

The State Police deferred to the FBI as the lead agency in the April 16 search of EDA headquarters and Jennifer McDonald’s locked down former office.

There is also a federal grand jury empanelled in Harrisonburg looking into the EDA situation here.

As he left the Magistrate’s Office County Board Chairman Murray appeared to be the most agitated at the circumstance of being charged criminally for neglect of municipal due diligence in oversight of the EDA in recent years. After silently passing the two reporters on the scene as he approached another paper’s photographer, Murray said loudly, “How am I doing? – I’m (FX-pletive deleted)” with an added “Don’t print that” to the scribbling reporters over his shoulder.

County Board Chairman Dan Murray was not a happy camper as he left the RSW grounds, in fact his Irish may have been up a tad.

Former EDA Board member Ron Llewellyn also seemed a bit flustered as he emerged from the Magistrate’s Office into the focus of two media cameras, commenting, “What is this a perk walk?” – a reference to the tradition of law enforcement walking high profile suspects in custody through a media crowd of reporters and photographers.

Ron Llewellyn does his ‘perk walk’ into the lurking press corp

RSW Superintendent Russ Gilkison later explained the absence of those processed on EDA-related misdemeanor charges from the jail website’s Inmate Locator function. He said that people processed on misdemeanors released on their own recognizance as all 13 and eventually 14 of these EDA defendants will be, are not actually booked into the jail, so do not show up as inmates on the website.

While they are fingerprinted for the record, mug shots are not taken since they are never brought into the jail’s housing facility.

“That’s just the way the law is written and it works that way for everybody,” Gilkison told Royal Examiner.

About 20 minutes after Llewellyn’s departure a Warren County Sheriff’s Office deputy arrived looking for ‘Ron’ – ‘Ron Llewellyn?’ the press corps offered. ‘Yes, he was supposed to meet me here, I have some things for him,’ the deputy somewhat coyly offered of what may have been civil services unrelated to the EDA situation.

Perhaps ironically also RSW Jail Authority Board Chairman, Doug Stanley was cordial if non-committal on the day’s developments for municipal and EDA officials.

Archie Fox departs without comment

Best get back to Blue Mountain, it’s safer up there – former EDA Vice Chairman Bruce Drummond departs the RSW parking lot with a wave.

Five of the 14 people charged with misdemeanors related to a lack of due diligent oversight of EDA financial affairs are in this photo of an April 2017 EDA meeting: from left, Ron Llewellyn, Greg Drescher, Jennifer McDonald, Patty Wines, Doug Stanley standing, Billy Biggs, Bruce Drummond and Brendon Arbuckle. McDonald, facing EDA felony charges, Wines deceased, and Arbuckle moved from the area after a brief board tenure were absent from Tuesday’s misdemeanor excitement at the RSW Jail.

It was a busy Tuesday morning at the Magistrate’s wing of the RSW Jail.