The West Virginia State Trooper who spent more than a year investigating allegations of misappropriation of funds in Keyser City Hall said that city officials have to operate more openly, and with more regard for standard financial procedures, or the kinds of problems revealed in the indictment of a former councilman will likely reappear in the near future.
“If they continue with the same old stuff, we’ll revisit this in a few years,” said Sgt. J.M. Droppleman. “They just need to operate things above board and do it right.”
Former Councilman Marques Rice was charged Wednesday with embezzlement and false pretenses. He faces one to 10 years in prison on each charge.
Keyser Mayor Glen “Bunk” Shumaker said lessons were learned as a result of the investigation. One innovation recently implemented by the current council requires all bids to be opened by a committee of city employees, to prevent undue interference in the bidding process by elected officials. Any product or service costing more than $2,000 must be bid.
“When I first came here I didn’t like the sway some things were done, I felt they needed changed,” he said.
The Rice case has been the source of intense speculation in Keyser for more than a year, with rumors swirling as the investigation continued. Numerous City Hall employees were interviewed, as well as elected officials past and present.
Droppleman said the more outrageous allegations, of multi-million dollar embezzlement, City Hall conspiracies and influential family connections, were without merit. “It’s just a bunch of nonsense and people have fed off that,” he said.
While the investigation produced just two charges, the trooper referred some aspects of the investigation to the West Virginia State Ethics Commission and the State Auditor’s Office. Those investigations remain ongoing.
The main issue Droppleman uncovered was financial carelessness, poor documentation, and lack of adherence to proper bidding procedures. “Quite frankly, the whole totality of the circumstance could have been avoided if everything had been done properly and documented properly ... ,” he said. “They took the short route sometimes.”
Droppleman’s assessment was that City Hall in general is looking out for the best interests of city
residents and taxpayers. “People in government appear to be doing the right thing for the city, I did see a lot of good things,” he said. “Even Mr. Rice, he did a lot of good things...but he shouldn’t have done what he did. He took advantage of his position.”
The State Trooper praised former councilman George Chidester, who tried unsuccessfully to point out financial irregularities, but was forced from office by intense public and council pressure. “George Chidester was treated very poorly by the public and the council...” Droppleman said. “He was left to fend for himself.”
KEYSER, W.Va. —
