ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Saturday, February 10, 1996 TAG: 9602120025
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-3 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: RICHMOND
SOURCE: Associated Press
Gov. George Allen on Friday named former U.S. Attorney E. Montgomery Tucker to head the Virginia Parole Board, replacing the chairman who resigned under pressure in November.
Tucker was U.S. attorney for the Western District of Virginia, based in Roanoke, from 1990-93 and since then has been legal counsel and office chief for the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. in Dallas.
``Monty is a highly respected, honest and extremely capable prosecutor,'' Allen said. ``His law enforcement experience and management background will certainly be of tremendous service to the Virginia Parole Board's operations and decisions.''
John B. Metzger III resigned as Parole Board chairman in November. He had offended others on the five-member board by telling off-color jokes and had clashed with them over the power of board members and the chairman.
An internal auditor and the Virginia State Police also looked into whether Metzger had manipulated parole warrants, but they found no evidence of criminal wrongdoing.
Metzger had been chairman since April 1994, when Allen replaced all the board members. Later that year, the General Assembly approved Allen's plan to end parole for all crimes committed after Dec. 31, 1994.
Inmate advocates have contended that Allen's board effectively ended parole before the law took effect. The state had granted parole to 40 percent of eligible inmates in 1993, but the rate dipped as low as 5 percent in 1994.
LENGTH: Short : 38 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: (headshot) Tucker.by CNB