Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, February 19, 1992 TAG: 9202190260
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: A-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: By LAURENCE HAMMACK
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
NO CHARGES AGAINST FIRE CHIEF
Roanoke Fire Chief Rawleigh Quarles accused last year of misusing state funds and rigging bids on fire trucks to benefit a favored company - is guilty only of "extremely poor judgment," an investigation has concluded.City Commonwealth's Attorney Donald Caldwell, who was asked by the state police to review the allegations against Quarles, announced Tuesday that he has decided to bring no criminal charges.
"Basically what he would be guilty of is extremely poor judgment," Caldwell said.
Caldwell said there was "absolutely no evidence" to support some complaints against Quarles, including charges of bid rigging and allegations that the fire chief misappropriated $30,000 in state grant money intended for firefighting equipment.
But other complaints - including Quarles' acceptance of improper gratuities from Grumman Emergency Products, which sold six fire trucks to the city last year for $1.4 million - gave the prosecutor more concern.
Quarles might technically have violated state conflict-of-interest laws when he allowed Grumman to sponsor his daughter in a New York beauty pageant by purchasing $735 in program advertisements, Caldwell said.
However, state law specifies that such action must be made "knowingly and willfully." Quarles apparently had no knowledge that what he was doing may have been illegal, Caldwell said.
Caldwell said another factor in his decision not to bring charges was that Quarles and other department heads had received no education from the city on the "very broad" and often vague laws covering conflict of interest and ethics in contracting.
Quarles declined to answer questions but released a prepared statement shortly after Caldwell's announcement.
"From the very beginning, and throughout the past 2 1/2 months, I have maintained my innocence of these malicious allegations," he said. "From the outset, I have acknowledged poor judgment, and that issue was addressed by the administration two months prior to the investigation."
As he has in the past, Quarles questioned the motives of an anonymous group of firefighters who apparently started the investigation last fall with a letter to the state Attorney General's office.
"It's unfortunate that employees of this organization elected to circumvent the administrative procedures already established to address this issue, rather than coming to me," he said.
"The action of this/these individuals convinces me - and it should be quite obvious to everyone - that their motive was less than sincere."
As for Quarles' error in judgment, city officials have said that he was disciplined, but have withheld details on exactly how or why.
City Manager Bob Herbert said Tuesday that there has been no change in Quarles' status as fire chief and no additional disciplinary action in light of the investigation.
"This has been an uncomfortable time for the chief, his family and city officials. . . . This is a reaffirmation that the chief did nothing illegal," Herbert said.
Herbert said he will begin ethical training and an educational program for departmental managers and others with management responsibilities - something that Caldwell had suggested.
At a news conference, Caldwell outlined the four allegations against Quarles and detailed his decision on each:
Quarles was accused of misappropriating state funds; in particular, $30,000 of a $36,915 allotment for lightweight air bottles was claimed to be missing.
However, Caldwell said he found "absolutely no evidence" of missing money from a state grant - even after he instructed state police investigators to take a second, closer look.
Quarles was accused of spending Fire Programs Fund money on improper items, including two T-shirts and a hat he bought for himself at a state fire chiefs' conference.
The letter had complained that Quarles used money from the Fire Programs Fund - a pool of state money that is distributed to localities for fire-fighting purposes - to purchase items such as dictaphones, cellular phones and training manuals. Caldwell called questions about such spending "completely administrative," and noted that the expenditures were approved by a state agency that oversees the program.
As for the T-shirts and hat, Quarles was reimbursed the $50 they cost after he submitted a request to the city.
"You can agree or disagree whether it's appropriate for the city to reimburse that type of expenditure," Caldwell said. But because Quarles received city approval, Caldwell said he could find no grounds for criminal charges.
Quarles was accused of fraudulent dealings with the solicitation of bids on six fire trucks, in particular a 121-foot ladder truck that only Grumman manufactured.
In December 1990, City Council designated funds for the purchase of the trucks. When bids were opened the following month, Grumman was the low bidder of four companies.
But because various city and fire officials were involved in a lengthy process of testing and discussion of possible purchases, Caldwell found "no evidence that any one individual controlled, or could control, this process."
In fact, Caldwell noted that Quarles had favored a 135-foot ladder truck manufactured by another company, but firefighters overrode his choice because the 121-foot Grumman model was considered more stable in use with high-rise buildings.
In the complaint that Caldwell said concerned him most, Quarles was accused of accepting improper gratuities from Grumman.
In particular, he was accused of accepting an expenses-paid invitation by Grumman to attend the Congressional Fire Service dinner in Washington, D.C., last April. He also was accused of attending, at Grumman's expense, a fire equipment show in New York where the ladder truck to be purchased by the city was on display; and of requesting that Grumman pay for the beauty pageant advertisements for his daughter.
The state police investigation found that, in fact, Quarles had done all three. Although state law prohibits "the act of accepting and/or soliciting money, favors or gifts" in such situations, Caldwell noted that Quarles apparently did not do so "knowingly or willfully" as required by law to support a misdemeanor charge.
Had Quarles intended to take advantage of the situation, "there are 1,000 ways to do it dishonestly," Caldwell said.
"The mere fact that he did it up front, with no effort to hide it, is something that you have to weigh. And certainly I think that a judge or jury would weigh that."
In his statement, Quarles suggested that he was not aware at the time that his actions were possibly illegal.
"I'm glad that the investigation results support my position that there was no evidence of blatant or willful impropriety regarding my actions or conduct," he said.
"This . . . [has] not been a pleasant experience for me, nor members of my family," Quarles continued.
"But now that the investigation has been concluded, I would like to concentrate on the task of managing the Fire Department."
Staff writer Joel Turner contributed information for this story.