THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, August 13, 1994 TAG: 9408130292
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B3 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS
DATELINE: RICHMOND LENGTH: Short : 50 lines
A former state senator convicted of embezzlement will be asked to tell a judge why his suspended sentence and probation should not be revoked.
Special Prosecutor Paul B. Ebert said Thursday that Robert E. Russell Sr. has not done any required community service or made any restitution. Russell was convicted of embezzling thousands of dollars from a cycling club.
Russell, who also owes the state $1,200 in court costs, will appear before retired Circuit Judge Lewis Griffith on Aug. 22.
Ebert said Russell ``should be treated like any other defender. He has to abide by the terms of his probation as anyone else does.''
Russell, a Chesterfield County Republican who became the first state senator in modern Virginia history to be convicted of a felony, resigned his seat immediately before his sentencing Jan. 25.
A Chesterfield Circuit Court jury found him guilty in November of embezzling funds from Richmond Velo Sports Inc., a nonprofit cycling club of which his son Thomas was a member. The jury recommended a five-year prison sentence.
Griffith of Fairfax County heard the case because Chesterfield judges disqualified themselves. He suspended four years of the sentence and ordered Russell to start making monthly $450 restitution payments to Richmond Velo on March 1.
Griffith also placed Russell on three years' probation, on condition he immediately undertake some type of community service.
``He's not paid anything back, and I don't know why,'' said Keith Marcus, an attorney for Richmond Velo. ``I'm sure we'll hear what his excuses are Aug. 22. . . . It's the young members of Richmond Velo that ultimately are hurt.''
Between March and December 1992, Russell wrote 12 checks totaling $13,650 from Richmond Velo's account and deposited the money in his account. After being confronted by club officials, Russell repaid $6,900 before charges were filed. He still owes the club the rest.
Russell, a commercial mortgage broker, served his sentence in Chesterfield's home detention program and was paroled on May 26, said James Willett, who prosecuted the case with Ebert.
Russell's son, Robert Russell Jr., said from his father's home Friday that the former senator was away and could not be reached. by CNB