ODC case filings confirmed that a federal and state criminal investigation is taking place regarding Pleasants County Prosecuting Attorney Brian Carr and Assistant Prosecuting Attorney Paul Marteney and their involvement with the Slow Down for the Holidays program. (Photo by Steven Allen Adams)

CHARLESTON — A case brought against Pleasants County Prosecuting Attorney Brian Carr and Assistant Prosecuting Attorney Paul Marteney for their part in dismissing certain cases in exchange for cash donations to a Christmas program is on hold as federal and state investigators look into the matter.

According to an order filed last Thursday by the hearing panel subcommittee of the West Virginia Lawyer Disciplinary Board, a motion to dismiss case brought by the Investigative Panel of the West Virginia Lawyer Disciplinary Board in October against Carr and Marteney for their part in the St. Marys Police Department’s “Slow Down for the Holidays” program was dismissed.

The hearing panel subcommittee did issue a stay of the case on March 1. The order, signed by hearing panel subcommittee chairman William Munday, said the stay was granted due to a federal and state criminal investigation into the Slow Down for the Holidays.

“After reviewing material supplied by both counsel on the issue of the existence of a federal investigation of the defendants regarding their involvement in the ‘Slowdown for the Holidays’ program, the panel and the parties discussed the evidence showing the existence of this federal investigation,” Munday wrote. “It was agreed by the parties that there is, in fact, an ongoing federal investigation of the respondents relating to the ‘Slow Down for the Holidays’ program.”

The second order denying Carr and Martney’s motion to dismiss the case last week also ordered them to produce any documents or other evidence that supports their allegation of being under federal and state investigation by law enforcement by this week.

The case was stayed for 90 days starting from the trial date of March 21 with a status conference scheduled for 10 a.m. June 22.

J. Michael Benninger, an attorney representing both Carr and Marteney in the case, said in an email Wednesday that the matter had been sealed and offered no comment on the claim of a federal and state criminal investigation. A call seeking further information from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of West Virginia was not returned Wednesday.

The Investigative Panel charged Carr with 20 counts of multiple violations of the Rules of Professional Conduct as well as violations of state code. Marteney was charged with five violations of the Rules of Professional Conduct for participating in what has been dubbed SantaGate, as well as two unrelated charges.

The Slow Down program, started in 2008, involved police officers dismissing minor traffic citations in exchange for donations of $50 gift cards or the equivalent of $50 in toys. Carr was the municipal judge for St. Marys when the program started. After Carr was elected as county prosecutor in 2018, his office and the Pleasants County Sheriff’s Department became involved.

According to the statement of charges, instead of dismissing minor traffic infractions, Carr and Marteney allegedly dismissed dozens of select state misdemeanor charges between 2018 and 2020. Instead of soliciting gift cards or toy donations, Carr and Marteney solicited monetary donations to the Slow Down program in exchange for dropping the charges.

More than $41,000 was collected from defendants for the Slow Down program between 2018 and 2020 before the program was paused. Misdemeanor charges dismissed in Pleasants County Magistrate Court included people passing stopped school buses, speeding, littering, possession of alcohol by minors and multiple offenses for driving under the influence.

In a response to the motion to dismiss the case by Carr and Marteney, Rachel Cipoletti, the chief lawyer disciplinary counsel for the ODC, accused them of using their authority to allow defendants to “purchase their ‘innocence.'”

“As a result of the creation of their unsanctioned system of ‘justice’ that allowed for the chief law enforcement officer to select certain criminal defendants who could purchase their ‘innocence’ both (Carr and Marteney) were charged with multiple violations of the Rules of Professional Conduct,” Cipoletti wrote. “It is not in dispute that there is no statute, rule, or case law that allows the dismissal of a criminal case in exchange for a criminal defendant’s payment of money or goods to the Slow Down for the Holidays program.”

Both Carr and Marteney filed written responses to the ODC charges last November denying that they violated the Rules of Professional Conduct or any criminal law.

The state Office of Disciplinary Counsel, which assists the Lawyer Disciplinary Board, investigates complaints regarding violations of the Rules of Professional Conduct that attorneys follow in West Virginia. The Lawyer Disciplinary Board makes recommendations to the West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals, whose members determine what disciplinary actions to take.

Former Pleasants County magistrates Randy Nutter and Lisa Taylor received public admonishments from the West Virginia Judicial Investigation Commission last September after cooperating with an investigation into their participation in the Slow Down program. Both former magistrates agreed to resign and never seek public office again for any judicial positions.

Steven Allen Adams can be reached at sadams@newsandsentinel.com.