By DAVID A. MANN
A special prosecutor enlisted to investigate alleged credit card abuses by Jeffersonville Clerk-Treasurer Peggy Wilder has been negotiating with her attorney on which charges will be pursued.
Bradley Jacobs, Wilder’s attorney, declined to name the specific charges, but said misdemeanors are being considered and that a probable-cause affidavit was in the process of being drafted by the prosecutor.
The possible charges relate to an Indiana State Board of Accounts audit from 2007. In it, the board states Wilder used the city’s tax information and credit to obtain two credit cards. There was no indication that one of the cards, issued by Fifth Third Bank, had ever been used for anything but personal charges. In 2006 and 2007, it got so backlogged that the bank electronically withdrew $2,047.75 from city accounts in order cover her delinquent debt.
Months later, Wilder paid the city back the money that Fifth Third had taken, the audit said.
Additionally, in 2004, Wilder obtained a credit card from Republic Bank for travel expenses. The board determined that only some of the charges on that account were related to city business.
More than $15,000 in charges between 2004 and 2008 were paid for by someone other than the city. The board presumes they were personal expenses paid for with personal funds, something not authorized by the city resolution that allowed her to get the card.
“I think what she did was more illegal than wrong,” said Jacobs. “She broke a statute.”
However, he said she had no malicious intent when doing so.
“We’ve got a tentative deal worked out,” he said, noting that it would likely not include any jail time for Wilder. “Peggy’s going to take her lumps, obviously. She’s not real happy with the situation, because she didn’t feel like she did anything wrong.”
Wilder did not return a phone call request for comment on the matter. However, she has said in previous interviews that no claims were written for her personal purchases — meaning city council approval wasn’t needed — and no city money was missing, something the audit confirmed.
When the story first broke, the board of accounts sent its findings to Clark County Prosecutor Steve Stewart. Months later, in July 2009, he selected Scott County’s Chris Owens as a special prosecutor.
Owens was reached for this article and confirmed that he and Jacobs had been negotiating on the issue. However, he declined to corroborate the specifics of the deal or say when — or, if — charges would be filed.
Owens said negotiations between a prosecutor and a defense attorney prior to charges being filed is not uncommon or unethical in any way. If a prosecutor negotiated directly with a person being charged it would be, because they wouldn’t have been advised of their rights by an attorney, Owens said.
Fran Watson, clinical professor of law at Indiana University School of Law — Indianapolis, confirmed that such negotiations are common, even before charges are filed. Parties use such meetings to negotiate on matters such as misdemeanor versus felony charges or alternative sentencing, she said.
Too long?
Indiana State Statute says that misdemeanor charges have to be filed within two years of the date of the crime. There’s a five-year statute of limitations on class B, class C and class D felonies.
Though the audit was released at the end of 2008 and became a topic of public discussion in early 2009, it officially covers 2007. Despite that, it does contain references to spending that took place in 2008.
Owens and Jacobs said that the statute of limitations was not a concern because there were charges that could be filed within the time frame.
Just because it’s 2010 doesn’t mean that misdemeanors can be ruled out, Watson said.
“If you plea, you can waive rights in favor of your agreement,” she said.
Though she hadn’t researched that question specifically, she knew of no court ruling that’s forbade such a plea.
A reporter’s call Wednesday was the first Watson had heard about the case. However, she said, that Wilder’s alleged wrongdoings sound more like identity theft than they do any misdemeanor charges.
Credit card records
The credit card statements related to this case — despite being the subject of the Indiana Access to Public Records Act — are not on file in the clerk-treasurer’s office. The board of accounts notes that, when it performed its audit, it had to request the documents directly from the banks.
Last year, the state board denied a request by The Evening News for copies of the statements, claiming they were covered by accountant-client confidentiality. The newspaper filed a formal complaint against the agency with the Indiana Public Access Counselor, arguing that the board is not an accountant and therefore could not use accounting confidentiality statutes.
The access counselor issued an opinion, saying that the board violated no public access laws because it performs the functions of an accountant.
In December, the paper filed a request for the statements with the city, instructing it to either get the statements from the card-issuing banks or its accountant, the board of accounts. To this date, that request has been unfulfilled.
State law does not specify how long an agency has to fulfill a records request.
Theft charges
In a separate case, Wilder is accused of theft in Kentucky related to a car purchase wherein she didn’t have the title for a vehicle she was trading in. That case has been continued until 1 p.m. Feb. 18 in Jefferson County, Ky., District Court.
TIMELINE
• December 2008: The Indiana State Board of Accounts releases an audit revealing that Jeffersonville Clerk-Treasurer Peggy Wilder used city credit cards for personal purchases. She paid for the charges.
• January 2009: Board sends audit findings to Clark County Prosecutor Steve Stewart.
• March 2009: The Jeffersonville City Council announces it will not further investigate the alleged credit card abuse.
• July 2009: Stewart decides to appoint special prosecutor Chris Owens, from Scott County, to investigate case, “in order to avoid the appearance of impropriety.”
• New news: Prosecutor, defense attorney wrapping up negotiations regarding charges.
— Staff reports
