Tag: Paige Rice

Categories
News

Guilty plea: Paige Rice agrees to misdemeanor in embezzlement case

Paige Rice leaves the Charlottesville courthouse with attorney Andrew Sneathern (center) and her husband Joe. (Photo: Matt Weyrich)

Carolyn Paige Rice, a former Charlottesville chief of staff and clerk of council, pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor embezzlement charge Wednesday for failing to return an iPhone X and Apple Watch that were paid for by the city during her tenure.

As part of the plea agreement, Rice was charged with a misdemeanor instead of a felony and was sentenced to six months in prison; the sentence is suspended two years with the opportunity for her to avoid doing time contingent on good behavior. Rice, 37, is also required to complete 200 hours of community service.

“We [originally] charged it as a felony because [reducing] a charge shouldn’t have happened behind closed doors,” Charlottesville Commonwealth’s Attorney Joe Platania says. “We wanted it to be transparent and wanted the public to see what the initial charge was. A grand jury heard the evidence and then it got reduced in a public open courtroom so transparency was very important to me as part of this process.”

Rice resigned from her post in September, citing a pay cut she received just two months after the city gave her a raise. Her last day as a city employee was October 5, when Platania says she also called AT&T and asked for her iPhone to be unlocked so that she could switch it to another provider.

Four days later, Brian Wheeler, Charlottesville director of communications, contacted Rice to ask for the watch, phone, and an iPad to be returned. Rice told Wheeler that the screen on the iPhone was broken and had no trade-in value, and that she’d paid for the Apple Watch herself.

In an email conversation between Wheeler and Rice later that week, Rice claimed that she’d mailed the iPhone in to AT&T’s recycling program but agreed to return the iPad. Wheeler tried to confirm with AT&T that the phone had been received.The cell phone provider told him in late December that it had been transferred to Verizon and was never returned.

The Charlottesville Police Department opened up a criminal investigation in January and found that the phone had been added to the Verizon account of Carol Barfield, Rice’s mother. Wheeler also located a December 2017 AT&T bill that confirmed the Apple Watch was purchased by the city itself.

CPD obtained a search warrant March 14 for Rice’s home and confronted her that day. When Detective David Stutzman approached Rice, she was wearing the Apple Watch and using the iPhone X. A month later, she admitted to police that she had not paid for the watch nor did the phone screen break.

A grand jury indicted Rice on felony embezzlement charges June 7 but her attorney was able to negotiate the charge being lowered to a misdemeanor as part of the plea agreement. Rice, who’s now the chief of staff of the Focused Ultrasound Foundation, declined to comment through her lawyer Andrew Sneathern.

Rice’s made $72,842 as clerk of council, and her salary was raised to $98,328 as clerk and chief of staff before the pay cut. Platania says Rice’s motive for keeping the devices is “unclear” but that the city felt it needed to pursue a criminal investigation because “there were multiple attempts made to get the devices back and the requests to have it returned were not met with truthful responses, and so we sort of didn’t feel like we had any other options.”

Categories
News

Paige’s pay cut: New details on former council chief of staff’s resignation 

Paige Rice at a City Council meeting following the KKK rally in July 2017. eze amos

Paige Rice, the former Charlottesville chief of staff and clerk of council who was indicted on felony embezzlement charges June 7, decided to resign from her post in September because her salary was reduced just two months after she received a raise and expanded role, according to documents obtained by C-VILLE Weekly under the Freedom on Information Act.

In her resignation letter to City Council dated September 6, 2018, Rice wrote that she was “not able to continue providing the high level of service and hard work required of this position at a reduced salary.” In July, she had received a raise of over $25,000 for taking on an expanded role that included overseeing two new positions. C-VILLE Weekly was unable to determine how much of her salary was cut or the reason why.

Shortly after Rice resigned, City Council discussed at a public meeting whether or not the increased funds and job title change were needed. The larger council staff had been part of the budget approved earlier in 2018. Mayor Nikuyah Walker requested a guest audit of the chief of staff position to get an outside opinion about whether the salary was justified given the job’s responsibilities.

In January, Charlottesville hired former Lynchburg deputy council clerk Kyna Thomas to fill the position. Thomas’ current job title is chief of staff and clerk of council, which is the same title Rice held before she resigned. However, Thomas’ salary sits at $105,000, which is about $7,000 more than Rice received after her July 2018 raise.

Rice was indicted under unusual circumstances June 7 by a grand jury on one felony count of embezzlement after she allegedly failed to return both an Apple Watch and iPhone X that were given to her for work purposes while she was employed. The devices are valued at over $500 and the circumstances surrounding her charges are unclear.

According to Nolan Stout’s Daily Progress story published Thursday, Rice was the only city employee with an Apple Watch, which she purchased in December 2017, and she didn’t need to seek approval to purchase either the watch or the iPhone.

A former city employee, who spoke to C-VILLE Weekly last week on the condition of anonymity, said “it seems kind of odd to me someone didn’t call her and say, you need to return the phone, rather than sneak around and charge her with a felony.”

Because the criminal case is an ongoing investigation, members of City Council aren’t permitted to speak publicly on the case. Rice hasn’t responded to multiple requests from C-VILLE Weekly for comment.

Her appearance in court, previously scheduled for August 19, has been moved up to July 24.

Categories
News

In brief: Rice reactions, RBG ruling, TJ’s party over, and more

Paige Rice at a City Council meeting following the KKK rally in July 2017. eze amos

‘Odd’ indictment

The felony embezzlement charge against former City Council clerk Paige Rice, 37, for an iPhone and Apple Watch valued at more than $500 has many scratching their heads.

“It seems very unusual it got to this point without a resolution,” says attorney Scott Goodman. “It seems like something that could have easily been resolved without a felony indictment.”

A former city employee who spoke only on the condition of anonymity says, “It seems kind of odd to me someone didn’t call her and say, you need to return the phone, rather than sneak around and charge her with a felony. Particularly with her husband working there. It’s very odd.”

Rice is married to Joe Rice, deputy director of communications for the city. Neither responded to C-VILLE’s phone calls.

Rice was a fixture at council meetings for eight years. Last July she was named chief of staff to manage two new employees at the disposal of councilors. The job came with a salary bump from almost $73,000 to $98,000. The larger council staff had been touted by then-mayor Mike Signer, but was criticized by Mayor Nikuyah Walker, who call for a guest audit of the position and its pay.

Rice’s resignation letter came barely two months later on September 12. She took a job at the Focused Ultrasound Foundation as chief of staff.

Attorney Dave Heilberg says embezzlement is a crime of taking property with which one has been entrusted, but Rice’s case “is not as clear cut” as that of an accountant who writes herself a check. What Rice was told about the equipment could be a factor in her defense, and he points out that “technology goes out of date really fast” when assessing its value.

A grand jury from both Albemarle County and Charlottesville—which is also unusual, says Heilberg—indicted Rice June 7. And court records show the date of the offense as October 5, Rice’s official last day.

Goodman says the indictment could have consequences that “could be ugly,” particularly if Rice has information about other people in the city in similar circumstances who didn’t get indicted.

A city release announcing Rice’s resignation said, “The City Council appreciates the service of Ms. Rice over the last eight years and wishes her the best as she moves on to the next exciting phase in her professional life.”

Her next court appearance is August 19.

Quote of the week

“The House [of Delegates] has no prerogative to select its own members.”—Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg in a U.S. Supreme Court decision that upholds a lower court ruling that Virginia’s legislative districts were racially gerrymandered

In brief

B’day non grata

At its June 17 meeting, City Council took steps to remove the birthday of local icon Thomas Jefferson, April 13, as a paid city holiday and to replace it with Liberation and Freedom Day, March 3, which commemorates the arrival of Union forces and the emancipation of the area’s 14,0000 enslaved people. Albemarle will discuss ditching Jefferson’s birthday at its June 19 meeting.

Are luxury condos in the Dewberry’s future? Skyclad Aerial

Dewberry condos?

Not much activity has been seen on the ground at the site of the alleged Dewberry Hotel, now celebrating its 10th anniversary as a wraith towering over the Downtown Mall. But the Progress reports some movement on the Dewberry Group website, and renderings of the hotel have migrated from its hospitality to its living section, with a new name: the Laramore.

Deadbeat guv pays up

West Virginia Governor Jim Justice finally paid the  $311,000 in back taxes his company owed to Albemarle County, plus the current tax bill, reports the DP’s Allison Wrabel. The county had started the process to sell 52 of Justice’s 55 parcels because of the large arrearage.

AG okays THC

Virginia Attorney General Mark Herring spoke out in favor of legalizing recreational marijuana in an op-ed published in both the Daily Press and The Virginian-Pilot on Sunday. The General Assembly has yet to pass any measures on the issue, but decriminalization has been an issue generally shot down by Republicans in past sessions.

Rural broadband access

Central Virginia Electric Cooperative’s subsidiary, doing business as Firefly Fiber Broadband, will receive $28.6 million of FCC funds to provide 1 gigabit internet speeds for over 11,000 homes and businesses in central Virginia over the next 10 years.

Election turnout: Not great

Off-year elections traditionally have lower turnout, and this year’s June 11 primary was no exception. With no presidential or gubernatorial candidates at the top of the ballot, many voters chose to sit out the primary, despite several local General Assembly races.

  • The 57th District, which includes Charlottesville and the Albemarle urban ring, had the highest turnout—15.7 percent—in state General Assembly elections, according to Virginia Public Access Project.
  • The 17th Senate District, which had both a Democratic and Republican primary, brought in a much lower 5 percent of the electorate in each race.
  • Total Charlottesville turnout (including City Council primaries) was 19 percent, compared to 27 percent in 2017.
  • Total Albemarle County turnout (including races for sheriff and Rivanna supervisor) was 10 percent.
  • In 2017, county turnout was 19 percent for the Democratic primary for governor and .05 percent for the Republican primary.
Categories
News

In brief: Happy hour, Master Charles, prof charged and more

Being able to advertise $1-off drinks for happy hour is a “great business opportunity” to bring more people out and to compete with bars on the Corner, says Kelly Creighton, bartender at Jack Brown’s. Eze Amos

Dead or alive

Virginia’s General Assembly has been hard at it for three weeks now, tackling the 2,000 or so bills legislators filed. While most bills will die quietly in subcommittee, here are a few survivors—and committee casualties.

Alive

A judge has already ruled Virginia’s law that suspends driver’s licenses for unpaid court fines is likely unconstitutional. The Senate got with the program January 25, and passed a bill that repeals the state “debtor’s prison” law 36-4.

Finding out about the best happy hour could get easier, thanks to legislation allowing the advertising of drink specials that has passed both the House and Senate. This, too, was preceded by a lawsuit in which a northern Virginia restaurant owner claimed ABC regs violated free speech.

A bill that would exempt menstrual products from sales tax cleared a Senate committee 14-1 January 25, but the “Dignity Act” still needs to make it out of a House subcommittee.

While all the gun safety bills championed by Governor Ralph Northam died in subcommittee, Republican Senator Dick Black’s packing heat in church bill cleared the Senate January 24 in a 21-19 vote on party lines.

Dead

A bill that would allow localities to set their own minimum wage was killed in a House subcommittee 5-1 January 22.

Undocumented immigrants are not allowed to have driver’s licenses in Virginia, and that won’t change with the January 23 demise on party lines of a Senate bill that would have allowed temporary driver privilege cards.

Delegate David Toscano’s measure to limit campaign contributions by utilities like Dominion to $500 died in a House subcommittee January 24.

Quote of the week

“It doesn’t help us as a community for our mayor to be out there in the public criticizing the people who live here.”—Adam Healey, Charlottesville Albemarle Convention & Visitors Bureau interim executive director, on marketing guru Jerry Miller’s Facebook live, to which Mayor Nikuyah Walker replied, “[Y]ou are the type of citizen who allows the soul of Charlottesville to remain ugly.”

In brief

Experiment gone wrong

The mother of a Greer Elementary student said her 6-year-old was traumatized by a social experiment teacher Vicky Chen conducted. Chen, who has been placed on administrative leave, separated her students by eye color, and gave candy to only the ones with blue eyes for her MLK Day-themed lesson on equal opportunity and inclusiveness. Activists say Chen further marginalized students of color, who typically have brown eyes.

Another creative writing prof

UVA Professor Jeffery Allen has been placed on administrative leave with pay after being charged with felony strangulation and misdemeanor domestic battery in November. He follows English Department colleague John Casey, who was on leave for a year and then retired in December after a disciplinary panel found he violated policies on inappropriate sexual contact with a student.

Synchronicity swami

Master Charles developed high-tech meditation at Synchronicity. Photo courtesy Synchronicity

Master Charles Cannon, founder of the Faber spiritual community, died January 24 at age 73. In 2008, Cannon was in Mumbai at the Oberoi Hotel when it was attacked by terrorists and 162 people were killed, including father and daughter Alan and Naomi Scherr, who were with a group from Synchronicity. After the attack, Cannon and Kia Scherr, wife and mother of the two slain Nelson County residents, called for compassion and forgiveness of the murderers.

Juneteenth organizer

California-born Tamyra Turner, 73, a former Charlottesville School Board member who started the city’s Juneteenth celebration in 2000, died January 16. A professor of English literature who taught most recently at PVCC, she met her husband, former Charlottesville NAACP president Rick Turner, at Stanford. She served on a number of boards, including the Jefferson School African American Heritage Center, the Jefferson Madison Regional Library, and the Virginia Festival of the Book steering committee.

Bye, Buyaki

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The man who wore a Confederate flag-patterned tie to a county school board discussion of  banning Confederate imagery will not seek another term. Jason Buyaki, who’s been on the board since 2011, also caught the ears of community parents and activists in October when he questioned climate change and the nature of fossil fuels.

National spotlight

Charlottesville native Natalie Hoffman was convicted January 18 after leaving water and food for migrants crossing the desert into Arizona. Hoffman, who was working with the group No More Deaths, was charged with entering and driving in Cabeza Prieta National Wildlife Refuge without a permit.

New clerk

City Council hired Lynchburg deputy council clerk Kyna Thomas to become its clerk and chief of staff for $105,000. City spokesman Brian Wheeler, who makes $116K, has filled in since former council clerk Paige Rice took the chief of staff job in July for $98,000 and left in September.

Child porn charges

Forrest Butler, ACPD

Albemarle police charged Avocado Capital co-founder Forrest Butler, 58, with two counts of child pornography distribution January 22. He was released from jail on bond and will appear in court April 8.

Wawa on the way?

The county’s Architectural Review Board has approved plans for a Wawa convenience store and gas station off Route 29 and Proffit Road. It could be built by the end of the year, as long as the Board of Supervisors gives it a thumbs up.

Free tax help

The local branch of the United Way is offering free tax preparation for most taxpayers with household incomes of $55,000 or less. Through its program called Cville Tax Aid, partners such as the UVA Community Credit Union have prepared nearly 20,000 returns since 2007, and organizers expect to help more than 2,700 community members this year. To schedule an appointment, call United Way at 434-972-1703 or visit www.CvilleTaxAid.org.

Categories
News

In brief: A booze trail, one new declaration, two new job openings, and more…

City boosters and brewmasters have come together to blaze the Charlottesville Ale Trail, a two-mile stretch they’re calling the premier urban and pedestrian beer trail in Virginia. Click to enlarge.

‘United by beer’

City boosters and brewmasters have come together to blaze the Charlottesville Ale Trail, a two-mile stretch they’re calling the premier urban and pedestrian beer trail in Virginia.

The six stops along the way are Random Row Brewing Co., Brasserie Saison, South Street Brewery, Champion Brewing Company, Three Notch’d Craft Kitchen & Brewery, and Hardywood Pilot Brewery & Taproom.

After downloading a “passport” at charlottesvillealetrail.org, participants are encouraged to visit each stop for a pint or plate, which will earn them a stamp in their passport. Get a stamp from each spot, and you’ll win a prize.

“Cheers,” said Random Row co-owner Bradley Kipp at a September 3 press conference. He says he’s always amazed by the collaborative nature of local brewers, who pitched in with business advice and tips on how to source ingredients when he opened Random Row two years ago. A press release called this phenomenon “united by beer.”

Chris Engel, the city’s director of economic development, said there was only one brewery in town when he moved here in 2005. Then, in 2012, the General Assembly voted to allow breweries to sell full glasses of beer without restaurants on-site, which “lit a fire under microbreweries,” he said.

Tourism has a $600 million impact on the community annually, according to Engel, and he hopes the ale trail will help drive that.

But to drink half a dozen pints and walk the whole trail in a day? Says Engel, “You gotta be committed.”

Great pay, lousy hours

City Council’s clerk and Chief of Staff Paige Rice is leaving her $98K-a-year job September 21 after eight years. Rice’s job was recently retitled “chief of staff” when it was expanded to include supervision of two new staff positions as well as the assistant clerk, an arrangement that Mike Signer describes as a “parallel government to the city manager.”

Nice raise

Rice’s salary as clerk was $72,842 in 2017, and it was bumped $25K—35 percent—when she became chief of staff.

Suicide support

City councilors  honored Suicide Prevention Month (September) with an official declaration at their September 17 meeting. “Let’s take a moment to check on our friends, even the strong ones. Let’s support each other. Let’s love each other,” urged Councilor Wes Bellamy on Instagram.

Jail board vacancy

Bellamy (center) at the September board meeting. Photo: Eze Amos

Bellamy also announced at the council meeting an opening for a Charlottesville representative on the Albemarle-Charlottesville Regional Jail board, which has recently been at the center of controversy surrounding voluntary calls to federal immigration agents when undocumented immigrants are released from jail. Interested citizens are urged to apply (though you’ll have to wait till the position gets posted).

Appalachian tuition break

UVA’s Board of Visitors voted to expand tuition discounts for out-of-state students who live in the federally defined Appalachia region and attend UVA’s campus at Wise, the Cav Daily reports.

Back to work

After the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission issued a stop work order to builders of the controversial $6 billion Atlantic Coast Pipeline earlier this summer because there was concern that it would interrupt federally protected species near the Blue Ridge Parkway, Dominion Energy spokesperson Aaron Ruby said September 17 that the National Park Service and U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service have concluded the project is safe, and work will resume.

Autopsy results

Charlottesville Police have ruled the death of Thomas Charles “Colonel” Franklin, 65, a suicide, as reported by CBS19. Franklin died June 10 when he left the Cedars Healthcare Center and drowned in a nearby creek.

Sisterly love

While some folks in Charlottesville were still hiding from Hurricane Florence on September 17, the delegation visiting its French sister city, Besançon, was celebrating the two towns’ liaison. Mayors Jean-Louis Fousseret and Nikuyah Walker planted a poplar tree to commemorate the dedication of a traffic circle in the French city, named after our town in central Virginia.

Quote of the week:

“Those in glass houses shouldn’t throw stones.” —U.S. Senate candidate Corey Stewart, who accused senators of having their own “secret ‘creep list,’” and advocated the confirmation of Judge Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court