"Future events will show Chairman York acted wisely by not scheduling the announced special meeting. Everybody, including bloggers, needs to be patient and let Ms. Stamos do her job. When she is done, the Board can decide what actions, if any, to take. Until Ms. Stamos [Arlington Commonwealth's Attorney Theo Stamos] has finished, it is best for all directly involved in the process not to comment publicly to avoid compromising the investigation.”
Charlie King, attorney for Supervisor Delgaudio, responding to the cancellation of an announced special meeting that was to be held Nov. 20
Well we have a Supervisor accused and still innocent until proven guilty charged with fraud and ethics violations. I think it would also be a prudent move to vote in the administrative elements of the Williams proposal. Why in the world is Delgaudio involved in the Finance, Government Services & Operations Committee? Delgaudio is being investigated for financial fraud. Delgaudio has also been allowed, while under investigation for ethical violations against employees, to help debate and reform the role and employment policies of Supervisor Aides. Clearly an issue with that don't you think? What if the allogations are proven? Will all the BOS and committee work done were Delgaudio was involved while under investigation going to have to be reviewed? Avoid the issue and sit him down from committee assignments. It's the prudent thing to do and I think it is a grand stretch to think that action would hinder a fair investigation.
Conversely Supervisor Williams' proposed Nov 20th motion (now nixed by Chairman York) will only expose how deep the cracks are and how dysfunctional the 9-0 Republican Board really is. I also agree that is it highly inappropriate for Delgaudio to be involved in either drafting or discussing any new policies as it relates to Supervisors aides. And it was highly inappropriate for Delgaudio to vote on his own investigation. Sadly, this only shows Chairman York's failed leadership and his own complicity on this highly controversial. Who sits on evidence for 6+ months?
When are the rest of the board - apart from York, Clarke, and Delgaudio himself, all actively engaged since March in trying to withhold evidence from the prosecutor - going to take responsibility for governing? In any other case in which an individual was under criminal investigation, that individual would be without question placed on administrative leave. Yes, representation for Sterling is very much at issue. Any "representation" the Sterling district would be getting from Mr. Delgaudio during an ongoing investigation is tainted by the possibility of criminal conduct. That's just the way this process works. Any constituent needs can be routed through Mr. York's office for the duration of the investigation. Reschedule the regular business meeting and do your job.
Mr. Delgaudio is now under criminal investigation, because prosecutors have determined that there is enough evidence to warrant such investigation. This situation is the same as one in which there is enough evidence that a pilot has flown a plane under the influence to warrant an investigation. The airline wouldn't wait to see if charges are filed before grounding the pilot, would they? Of course not. The distinction here between "only" an investigation and the filing of a criminal charge is a red herring. Removal of Mr. Delgaudio from his decision-making positions pending the outcome of the investigation is not, as it has been falsely characterized, intended as punishment. That would be wrong. It is rather the standard and prudent response to protect citizens who may be impacted by his conduct.
As is often the case in political wrong doing in government going back as far as the Nixon Administration, it is now coming to light that there was alos a coverup by the Board Chairman, Scott York. He deliberately withheld evidence during the initial inquiry into the matter of Delgaudio's malfeasance by the Loudoun County Commonweath attorney office. The result was a finding of no merit and the matter was not pursued. Fortunately, Loudoun County residents formed a PAC to force the release of this withheld information, which Chairman York did reluctantly, leading to the appointment of the Arlington Commonwealth Attorney as special investigator. York has done nothing to dispell his apparent nonfeasance as the Board's chair. If it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck, maybe this is really a coverup!
Joe, do you understand what a commonwealth's attorney is?
Especially when the target of the investigation is participating in policy-making decisions about the very conduct for which he is under investigation.
Who knows? And that's exactly the point.
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