St. Marys officials: Donations to ‘Slow Down’ program not tracked
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CHARLESTON -- A judicial investigation into the role two Pleasants County prosecutors played in dismissing certain misdemeanor cases in exchange for monetary donations to the St. Marys Police Department's Slow Down for the Holidays program found a lack of accounting of how funds were collected and disbursed.
According to charging documents released Wednesday by the West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals Clerk's Office, the Investigative Panel of the West Virginia Lawyer Disciplinary Board found that the City of St. Marys did not keep track of funds to Slow Down for the Holidays, nor did it track how donations to the program were spent.
"The City Attorney for St. Marys (Keith White) did not have any accounting for the funds collected and did not have any accounting of how the proceeds of the Slow Down for the Holidays program were maintained or disbursed," wrote Amy Crossan, chairperson for the Lawyer Disciplinary Board's Investigative Panel.
The Lawyer Disciplinary Board charged Pleasants County Prosecuting Attorney Brian Carr and Assistant Prosecuting Attorney Paul Marteney on Oct. 15 with dozens of charges consisting of multiple violations of the Rules of Professional Conduct as well as violations of state code for dismissing serious misdemeanors in select cases in exchange for donations to the Slow Down for the Holidays program.
The program began around 2008 when Carr was a municipal judge for St. Marys. Started by the St. Marys Police Department, the program would dismiss minor traffic infractions between October and December each year in exchange for donations of $50 gift cards or the equivalent of $50 in toys.
Carr took office as Pleasants County Prosecuting Attorney in 2017, with his office and the Pleasants County Sheriff's Department joining the program in 2018. The state Office of Disciplinary Counsel (ODC) opened a complaint against Carr and Marteney on Jan. 6 -- one month after Carr self-reported to the ODC after concerns were raised about the propriety of participating in the program.
ODC investigators sent a subpoena Dec. 21, 2020, to White seeking all paperwork associated with the Slow Down for the Holidays program, including tickets, citations, orders, and judgments. More than 30 days later, city officials sought an audit of the program. A request for comment from White was not returned Thursday.
"By letter dated January 20, 2021, (White) reported to the West Virginia State Auditor's Office that the City requested an audit be conducted because City Council had only recently been informed how the Slow Down for the Holidays program was operated and the funds collected through this program had not been run through City accounts or subject to an audit," Crossan wrote.
A representative of the State Auditor's Office confirmed that requests for audits were made, but no forensic audit was conducted while various other investigations are ongoing.
According to records produced by White to ODC investigators, the Slow Down for the Holidays program collected approximately $41,286 between 2018 and 2020 during the time the Pleasants County Prosecuting Attorney's Office and the Pleasants County Sheriff's Department participated in the program.
The Slow Down for the Holidays program was paused this year because of the ODC investigations into Carr and Marteney and a Judicial Investigation Commission inquiry that resulted in the resignations of Pleasants County magistrates Randy Nutter and Lisa Taylor last month for their participation in dismissing misdemeanor cases in exchange for monetary donations to the program.
According to the West Virginia Secretary of State's Office and the IRS, the Slow Down for the Holidays program is not registered as a charity or tax-exempt organization. St. Marys Police Department Chief Bill Stull was not available for comment Thursday.
Besides donations of toys, gift cards, and monetary donations from defendants, the program was also supported by fundraisers in the community, such as a barbecue put on in 2018 and 2019 by St. Marys Galaxy Food Center. Proceeds from the barbeque went to Slow Down for the Holidays.
"Ninety-nine percent of that money stays in Pleasants County," St. Marys Police Department Sgt. Jason Reed told the Parkersburg News and Sentinel in a 2019 article about the barbeque. "(It's a) way to connect with the community and to show that law enforcement isn't the bad guy."
Reporter Candice Black contributed to this story.
Steven Allen Adams can be reached at sadams@newsandsentinel.com