BRAMWELL —
The former chief of the Bramwell Volunteer Fire Department has pleaded guilty to embezzling more than $160,000 from the department over a five-year period.
James “Jimmy” Carver, chief of the fire department for 30 years, pleaded guilty to one felony count of embezzlement in Mercer County Circuit Court last week. The plea deal was handled by Mercer County Assistant Prosecuting Attorney George Sitler, who is also the Bramwell town treasurer.
Carver was sentenced to probation and ordered to pay full restitution.
Sitler said he represented the state, not the town, in the plea deal. The town of Bramwell was represented by town attorney Jay Barringer.
Town accounts and fire department accounts were completely separate prior to investigation of this case, Sitler said. “That’s probably part of the problem. There should have been greater transparency.”
The fire department account was flagged earlier this year when bounced checks were brought to the attention of town officials. “Until this was brought to our attention, we thought the Bramwell Fire Department was independent of the town of Bramwell except for appointment of the chief,” Bramwell Mayor Louise “Lou” Stoker said. “When that was brought to our attention, we started looking into it to see the reasons. That’s when I found out, yes, we did have some responsibility to oversee the fire department.”
Sitler said the plea deal came about when Carver’s attorney, Mark Wills, contacted the Mercer County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office. According to Sitler, Wills acknowledged his client had taken money out of the account and wanted to pay restitution.
Carver cashed in a 401K retirement plan, and paid an immediate $60,000 in restitution to the town.
Carver also agreed to resign his position, cooperate with the investigation and disclose all account records to the mayor, who reviewed them back to 2006, Sitler said.
The plea was made “to enable Mr. Carver to face up to what happened. He pled to a felony offense, and paid substantial restitution.”
Before the plea, Sitler said the Bramwell Town Council met and “everyone voted in favor of this resolution of the matter.” As town treasurer, Sitler is appointed by the Town Council and does not have a vote. He is not a cosigner on the fire department’s bank account.
However, Sitler told the Daily Telegraph Wednesday, “In hindsight, I should have let someone else handle this thing.”
Mercer County Prosecuting Attorney Scott Ash said Wednesday he was unaware Sitler was the Bramwell town treasurer. But, Ash said, he knew Stiler was involved with the town.
Sitler said the West Virginia State Police were contacted about the investigation. “The investigating officer did contact the mayor. The investigation is not over and it’s not precluded by what’s happened.”
Sitler said this one count of embezzlement dates back only to 2006.
“There’s nothing that precludes other people who may have taken money out of this account from being prosecuted,” he added.
First Sgt. J.R. Pauley, of the Princeton detachment of the West Virginia State Police, said there has been “no investigation” of this case. “I do have some preliminary investigation concerning this case in Bramwell, but there has been no investigation completed at this time.
“The decision on whether a report or investigation is needed at this point would be left up to the prosecutor’s office,” Pauley said.
In an information filed in Mercer County Circuit Court Aug. 4, Carver is charged with making $164,736.64 in unauthorized expenditures from the Bramwell Fire Department’s First Community Bank account.
Mayor Stoker emphasized the town was represented in this case by Barringer, not Sitler.
The town has appointed Joe Miller as the new fire chief. And, Stoker said, “there is oversight now.”
“This is an unfortunate and sad situation,” Stoker said. “There was no preferential treatment given him (Carver). We handled it as we would have handled any case of this type. I do believe that everything was handled in an ethical way.”
— Contact Samantha Perry at sperry@bdtonline.com
Local News
August 11, 2011
Former Bramwell fire chief guilty of embezzlement - Town treasurer handles case for state
- Local News
-
- Single-vehicle crash claims 1
-
‘A great day for Bramwell’
-
McDowell graduates step into their futures
-
Seniors in Tazewell County bid farewell
-
24th season of the Chicory Square Concert Series gets underway
- Teen struck by two vehicles on Route 460 dies
- Summer concert series begins in Bluefield
- Hatfield-McCoy Trail opens for business in Mercer County
- Judge lifts block of W.Va. mining permit
- MSHA conducts three-state Alpha inspection blitz
- More Local News Headlines
