Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, July 18, 1995 TAG: 9507180078
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-3 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: RICHARD FOSTER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Short
Billy Belcher will be on supervised probation for five years and must pay back $3,200 to Texaco affiliate Star Enterprise. Belcher ran the company's Montvale tank farm from 1990 until 1993, when he was fired and charged with embezzlement.
At the time he was fired, he was preparing to sue Texaco, alleging that his superiors let him drink contaminated water at a North Carolina terminal. The suit was tabled until he could deal with his criminal charges; Belcher says he still plans to sue.
Star said Belcher set up a fake business and, as terminal manager, wrote and cashed checks to it totaling $56,000. Belcher says his business was legitimate and he started it only at the urging of Star executives who offered it as a way to make extra money.
Belcher was found guilty of one felony count earlier this year after he entered an Alford plea - a special plea used when a defendant maintains his innocence but pleads guilty.
by CNB