DATE: Wednesday, April 9, 1997              TAG: 9704100399

SECTION: LOCAL                   PAGE: B4   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS 

DATELINE: HAMPTON                           LENGTH:   39 lines

FAULTY FINANCIAL FORMS RESULT IN INDICTMENT FOR HAMPTON OFFICIAL

City Councilwoman Linda McNeeley was indicted on five perjury counts for allegedly failing to report debts of $10,000 or more as required of Virginia elected officials.

McNeeley's indictment Monday makes her the first official in the state to be criminally prosecuted for improperly filing annual disclosure reports. Her trial is set for May 30.

Prosecutors allege that McNeeley, who has denied wrongdoing, left several debts off her financial disclosure forms from 1992 to 1996.

``An elected official or candidate for elected office completes a disclosure statement under oath, swearing that it is a full, true and correct accounting to the best of their knowledge,'' said Mike Dumont, a Virginia Beach deputy commonwealth's attorney who will prosecute the case. ``It's under oath. That's where the perjury comes in.''

If convicted, McNeeley could face up to 10 years in prison and a fine of up to $2,500 for each of the five counts. She also would have to relinquish her City Council seat, which she has held since 1990, and she would be disqualified from ever running for office again.

McNeeley's attorney, James Ellenson, said his client believed she was filling out the disclosure forms properly. ``I don't think there was anything knowing, or that it was done willfully or intentionally,'' he said.

McNeeley has been beset with financial troubles since her unsuccessful campaign for mayor last spring, when it was disclosed that she owed $1,200 in property taxes. Also, a creditor, Hampton businessman Bobby Wayne Crawford, won a $10,000 lawsuit against McNeeley and her husband, William, over the remainder of a $12,500 personal loan.

The McNeeleys filed for bankruptcy at the end of March after a creditor threatened to foreclose on their home. ILLUSTRATION: Photo KEYWORDS: INDICTMENT PERJURY HAMPTON CITY COUNCIL

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