Ex-Buncombe managers plead not guilty to contractor kickback allegations

Jennifer Bowman | The Citizen-Times

Show Caption Hide Caption The investigation of Wanda Greene A look at the federal investigation of former Buncombe County Manager Wanda Greene.

Buncombe County's former top administrators pleaded not guilty to contractor kickback accusations.

The most severe charges could mean as much as 580 years in prison for each defendant.

Prosecutors say they took trips, gifts and other bribes from contractor Joe Wiseman Jr. for years.

ASHEVILLE — Crowded around a desk with their attorneys sitting between them, three defendants who once served as Buncombe County's top administrative officials pleaded not guilty to a 32-count indictment accusing them of taking kickbacks from a longtime contractor.

Former county manager Wanda Greene and assistant managers Mandy Stone and Jon Creighton were arraigned Monday, making their first court appearance since a federal grand jury indicted them on a series of charges that include receipt of bribes and kickbacks and wire fraud.

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Greene in an additional arraignment Monday also pleaded not guilty to tax fraud charges tied to a life insurance scheme and embezzlement alleged by prosecutors.

The charges carry as much as 25 years in prison. Wire fraud charges can be served consecutively, meaning the three could each face 580 years, U.S. Magistrate Judge Dennis Howell said in his courtroom Monday.

A total of four ex-officials who have been charged since the U.S. Attorney's office confirmed last August that it was investigating Greene and others. It said its investigation into Buncombe government is ongoing.

Greene, Stone and Creighton arrived to the federal courthouse individually, each accompanied by their attorneys. They made no comment as they walked past news media — and residents who had gathered and vocally expressed their anger. John Payne, a Weaverville resident, held a sign addressed to them that said, "Buncombe County taxpayers are planning your next trip."

Prosecutors said that from vacations around the world to sporting event tickets and spa treatments, the managers for years took business kickbacks from Joe Wiseman Jr. Three companies with which Wiseman was associated since the mid-1980s received a total of $15 million in contracts, according to the indictment.

Wiseman has not been charged.

Mandy Stone has no comment this morning. #avlnews pic.twitter.com/KtExL1JA62 — Jennifer Bowman (@jenn_bowman) August 20, 2018

Prosecutors said Greene, Stone and Creighton never took paid time off during those trips, and instead filed expense reports to be reimbursed for baggage fees, per diem and other costs. They claimed on time sheets that they worked during that time and were able to receive cash for their unused leave under county policy, according to the indictment.

Greene, Stone and Creighton each were released on a $100,000 unsecured bond. They cannot travel outside the Western District of North Carolina and must surrender their passports. Federal prosecutors did not recommend detention.

The ex-staffers cannot consume alcohol and are prohibited from speaking with former and current Buncombe employees, including each other.

Howell granted requests from Stone and Creighton allowing them to speak with their relatives who had worked for the county. Creighton's wife is a former Buncombe staffer, and two of Stone's relatives — Matt Stone, her brother and the county's permits and inspections director, and her nephew Sam Stone — currently work for the county.

Greene is permitted to speak with her son, Michael, a former county employee who was indicted alongside his mother earlier this year. A judge previously denied her request to speak with her sisters Irene Wolfe and Peggy Hughes, both of whom are employed by the county.

Stone abruptly retired as county manager this summer, a position she held for less than a year after being appointed as Greene's successor. She began working for the county in 1981 and had served as human and health services director under Greene.

Creighton, who retired in December, was hired by the county in 1982. He served as planning director.

Greene has been indicted three times since a federal investigation launched last year. She's also accused of embezzling more than $200,000 worth of county funds through credit card purchases — including thousands of dollars spent on retail gift cards — and laundering money through a more than $2 million life insurance program that prosecutors said she started without approval from the Board of Commissioners.

The board announced last week that it would file a lawsuit against the former staffers. Buncombe already is suing Greene and her son in a separate suit filed about two months ago.

Michael Greene reached a deal with prosecutors and pleaded guilty last month to conspiracy to defraud the federal government in connection with the credit card purchases. He's expected to be sentenced a later date, but is cooperating with investigators.

Wanda Greene is due in court again Oct. 1 for a docket call in Charlotte. There is a status conference scheduled for Sept. 24.

"Good luck to you, Ms. Greene," Howell said at the end of the arraignment.

As Greene walked out of the courthouse about an hour later alongside her attorneys and surrounded by news cameras, a woman in a white car drove by and called her a thief.

"I hope you spend the rest of your life in prison," the woman told Greene.

Greene did not respond.

The charges

In total, the former staffers have been charged with:

Wanda Greene: 91 counts of wire fraud; 14 counts of federal program fraud; two counts of conspiracy to defraud the federal government; three counts of money laundering; six counts of filing a false tax return; and one count of receipt of bribes and kickbacks.

Mandy Stone: 29 counts of wire fraud; one count of conspiracy to defraud the federal government; one count of receipt of bribes and kickbacks; one count of federal program fraud.

Jon Creighton: 29 counts of wire fraud; one count of conspiracy to defraud the federal government; one count of receipt of bribes and kickbacks; one count of federal program fraud.