The Joplin Globe, Joplin, MO

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October 6, 2008

Road district schemes uncovered

By Derek Spellman

dspellman@joplinglobe.com

NEOSHO, Mo. — A former Seneca Special Road District employee has been charged with theft after allegedly embezzling the equivalent of more than $12,450 from the district, and a former road district commissioner has been arrested on suspicion of embezzling more than $14,830 separately.

A charge of Class C felony theft was filed Monday against Crystal R. Chew, formerly Crystal R. Whitlock, 29, of Seneca. A warrant was issued for Chew’s arrest, although she was not in custody as of late Monday afternoon, according to Newton County Sheriff Ken Copeland.

Former Commissioner Jordan A. Wilson, 24, of Neosho, meanwhile, was arrested over the weekend and is free after posting a probable-cause bond, Copeland said. A report on Wilson’s alleged embezzlement has been forwarded to the Newton County prosecutor’s office for review, although no charges had been filed as of Monday.

Chew is accused of using the road district’s credit card for more than $8,040 worth of personal purchases, according to a probable-cause affidavit filed by Detective Randall Scott of the Newton County Sheriff’s Department. Authorities further allege that Chew amassed $1,755 in charges on the district’s wireless Internet access card for personal use, including charges accumulated even after she no longer was employed with the district. She also is accused of receiving more than $2,654 in wages for which she was ineligible, according to the affidavit.

Chew’s employment with the district spanned May 4, 2006, through July 26, 2007, according to court documents. Information about her job title was unavailable Monday.

Chew reportedly admitted to the embezzlement during an interview with Scott, according to the affidavit.

Efforts to reach Chew for comment were unsuccessful Monday.

Wilson is accused of establishing a fake company called A.W. Gravel and then submitting invoices to the road district for work or products that the company was to have furnished, Copeland said. Wilson then wrote three checks totaling $14,830 to A.W. Gravel between August 2006 and February 2007, according to a probable-cause affidavit prepared by Scott.

Records on the Missouri secretary of state’s Web site show that Wilson filed paperwork for the creation of A.W. Gravel on Aug. 24, 2006 — the date of the first check written. He also listed his own name, phone number and address on the registration paperwork.

Wilson ultimately paid back the money after he was confronted by other commissioners, according to the probable-cause affidavit.

“Wilson admitted (to another commissioner) that he had a gambling problem and was a fraud,” Scott wrote in the probable-cause affidavit.

Wilson resigned from the commission earlier this year, according to Floyd Sreaves, who was elected to the commission in April 2008. Sreaves said Wilson resigned before Sreaves joined the board, and that he did not know the reasons Wilson provided for his departure.

Wilson was elected to the board in April 2006. Current Commissioner Steve Williams was appointed to replace Wilson.

When contacted Monday at his home, Wilson declined to comment on the case.

Copeland said he did not anticipate any other suspects beyond Chew and Wilson.

He said the department’s investigation was an outgrowth of an audit initiated in April. The audit, conducted by the Newton County auditor’s office in cooperation with the road district’s commission, uncovered discrepancies that were forwarded to his department.

“The board, I think, had their suspicions, so we were contacted,” he said.





By the numbers



The Seneca Special Road District contains 6,500 taxpayers. Its total revenue for the fiscal year that ended July 30, 2007, was more than $346,000, including proceeds from its own levy and County Aid Road Trust funds. CART money represents a portion of the state’s gasoline tax, motor vehicle sales tax and certain other state money. The road district’s total expenditures for that fiscal year were almost $319,500.

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