THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, February 23, 1995 TAG: 9502230292
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY ELIZABETH THIEL, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: VIRGINIA BEACH LENGTH: Medium: 92 lines
Brushing aside an impassioned declaration of innocence by School Board member Charles W. Vincent, a circuit judge Wednesday found him guilty of nine misdemeanor counts of violating a state ethics code.
Judge Thomas S. Shadrick further ordered Vincent to step down immediately from the School Board, and to pay $1,800 in fines if the verdict stands after his appeals are exhausted.
Vincent's attorney, Andrew M. Sacks, said he would fight the conviction and file an emergency request with the Virginia Court of Appeals in Richmond to halt Vincent's removal from the board.
``We respect the judge's decision, but we strongly disagree with the results,'' Sacks said.
Shadrick's ruling upheld a jury's guilty verdict, rendered last month after a two-day trial.
``I'm not guilty,'' a red-faced Vincent said, just before Shadrick read the sentence.
Vincent, who was elected to the School Board in May, was found guilty of violating the state's Ethics in Public Contracting provisions. He had requested campaign contributions last September from architectural and engineering firms seeking school building contracts.
He is the first elected official in city history to be ordered out of office, and the first in the state to be prosecuted under that ethics code, Commonwealth's Attorney Robert J. Humphreys has said.
Throughout his court battle, which began when he was indicted last November, Vincent has refused to give up his board seat, even though the city teacher's association and some members of the board have asked him to resign.
Board members have said privately they hoped for a speedy resolution of the matter, but there have been numerous delays.
Last month Shadrick postponed making the jury's verdict final because of a tough legal question that arose during trial: Did Vincent intend to break the law?
The state ethics code requires that, to convict someone of criminal violation, prosecutors must prove that the person broke the law willfully, not inadvertently.
Sacks argued during the trial, and is expected to argue on appeal, that Vincent is not a criminal because he did not know he was breaking the law when he solicited the contributions.
Shadrick, however, said evidence showed that Vincent was given ample opportunity to learn about the ethics code: Shortly after taking his board seat, he was issued policy manuals and attended orientation sessions that included discussions of school law.
Shadrick said it was ``reasonable to infer that a public official or a person of reasonable intellect'' would know he was breaking the law when soliciting gifts from firms doing business with the School Board.
Shadrick refused Sacks' request to postpone ordering Vincent to resign until appeals are finished.
``I think in this instance, the public has a right and a significant concern about the welfare of the children,'' Shadrick said.
But the issue of Vincent's status on the board is not resolved.
Under state law, Shadrick's verdict is not final for 21 days. Normally that would be a technicality. But Sacks said he would use the time to seek an emergency order from the state Court of Appeals to keep Vincent on the board through the appeals process.
Sacks said that in deference to Shadrick, however, he would advise Vincent not to attend School Board meetings scheduled before the appeals court can act. The next meeting is to be Feb. 28.
Said prosecutor Humphreys: ``As far as I'm concerned, there's a vacancy right now on the Virginia Beach School Board.''
If the vacancy stands, it will be the second in recent weeks. School Board Chairman James R. Darden, also elected in May, stepped down last month because of family medical problems.
Circuit judges have been given the task, under state law, of appointing someone to fill Darden's seat until a special election can be held. No appointment has been made, but a special election has been set for May 1996.
Meanwhile, the leader of a political action committee calling for Vincent's removal from the board said the group would not stop collecting signatures on a petition. The petition alleges that Vincent is incompetent and has abused his office.
``We're not going to rest until this has been finally concluded,'' said John T. Early Jr., chairman of Kids First.
If Vincent is forced to vacate his seat, Early said, his group would support Michael B. Hamar, a Virginia Beach attorney who was defeated in last spring's elections by Vincent and School Board member Ulysses Van Spiva for one of two at-large seats. ILLUSTRATION: Photo
Charles W. Vincent
KEYWORDS: VIRGINIA BEACH SCHOOL BOARD CONFLICT OF INTEREST ETHICS
VIOLATION by CNB