Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, December 15, 1994 TAG: 9412150061
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: A-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: RICHARD FOSTER STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: BEDFORD LENGTH: Medium
The board dropped its lawsuit against Wells in exchange for an agreement from the sheriff to pay about $2,800 of the disputed $15,000, according to a source close to the suit. Wells also said he would withdraw his suit demanding that the county reimburse his legal fees.
Both sides agreed not to discuss details of the settlement, including the amount Wells paid. But the source said Wells, who claimed the interest was only $5,600, settled his lawsuit for half of that amount.
"The controversy between the sheriff and the Board of Supervisors has been resolved. We will not be going to court tomorrow," said David Shreve, a special attorney hired by the county for the case.
The suits were to be heard this morning in Albemarle County Circuit Court in Charlottesville.
The Board of Supervisors filed a civil suit against Wells in May, seeking $15,000 in interest from payroll funds that Wells deposited into his personal bank account. For many years, Wells wrote employees' paychecks from that account.
Investigators have said Wells used the interest to buy a pickup truck for himself.
In April, special prosecutor Eric Sisler ended an investigation against Wells, saying he found no evidence of wrongdoing by the sheriff because commingling funds was not illegal at the time Wells did it.
Wells filed a lawsuit of his own against the Board of Supervisors this summer, saying it owed him $8,000 in fees he paid a Lynchburg law firm while he was being investigated.
The county refused to provide Wells with legal counsel, citing state law that requires a county to pay a sheriff's legal expenses only if the sheriff has been arrested or indicted and found innocent. Wells never was charged with a crime.
by CNB