CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — The Wayne County Circuit Court has affirmed a state ethics commission ruling that the Wayne mayor must reimburse the city more than $43,000 for misusing public funds and that he should be removed from office.
The court upheld the West Virginia Ethics Commission’s imposition of a public reprimand of Mayor James Ramey III for using public funds to make improvements to a building he owns. Ramey also must reimburse the commission the costs of investigating and prosecuting the complaint.
The commission had imposed $5,000 in sanctions, but the court removed those.
Ramey has leased property for the Town Hall since 2003. In 2005, he convinced the town council to pay for improvements, including a new roof and flooring, so part of the building could be subleased.
