CHARLESTON, W.Va. – The West Virginia Ethics Commission issued a Final Decision and Order on October 1, 2015 regarding ethics complaints filed against two members of the City of Piedmont Council.
The Commission found that Paula Boggs and Grace Russell violated the West Virginia Ethics Act by using their public positions for the benefit of former Town Foreman John Shingler. Boggs and Russell voted in late 2011 to have the city pay an attorney $10,000 to represent Shingler in matters outside the scope of his employment with the city. Shingler was later indicted and sentenced to three months in federal prison for conversion of government property relating to his use of the city’s account to purchase six surplus trailers from the Federal Emergency Management Agency for personal use.
A public hearing on the charges against Boggs and Russell was held on July 23, 2015, in Charleston, before a hearing examiner. The Commission adopted the examiner’s finding that the evidence proved beyond a reasonable doubt that these two individuals had used their public office for Shingler’s personal gain.
The Commission’s sanctions against Boggs and Russell include public reprimands against them; fines of $1,000 each; and reimbursement to the Commission in the amount of $1,310.45 each for the costs of prosecuting their violations. They also were ordered to undergo ethics training.