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SR. CENTER DIRECTOR GRAHAM INDICTED BY FEDS |
| (01/27/2006) |
| By Bob Weaver A federal grand jury has indicted Robert Graham, the executive director of Wyoming County's Council on Aging. The multi-count indictment says the 59-year-old Graham embezzled more than $350,000 from the Council on Aging, which receives federal funding. Graham was a headline maker in 2004 when it was learned he was earning more than $450,000 a year in compensation. His agreement with the senior center had numerous perk-filled items. The grand jury alleges Graham stole the money between 2001 and 2004, engaged in illegal banking transactions, and filed false tax returns. If convicted, he faces up to 112 years in prison and $5.2 million in fines. This week Graham filed a lawsuit against former Gov. Bob Wise and others, alleging he was investigated in 2004 not because of his pay and perks, but because he tried to blow the whistle on allegedly improper contracts stemming from the state's Medicaid program. The WV Ethics Commission just dropped the investigation against Senator Billy Wayne Bailey-D Wyoming for funneling nearly $500,000 to the Wyoming County senior citizens center where he is an employee. Bailey told a Charleston reporter "This is something to celebrate. This is a Christmas present. I thank God for helping me get through this." Sen. Bailey, who is paid $25,000 by the center, told Charleston Newspapers that he will continue to seek funding for his employer. Bailey said, "Just because I work at the center doesn't mean they should have to suffer and not get the extra things that they need." The Ethics Commission is funded and accountable to the WV Legislature, actually funded by the individuals they're frequently asked to investigate. The legislature likes it that way. Much like the WV State Police investigate their own, refusing to use a civilian review board.
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