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County prosecutors criticized for state of evidence, not being ready to proceed against Evergreen Corp. president and girlfriend. Major part of case remains
By Ed Meyer
Beacon Journal staff writer
Published on Tuesday, Jun 03, 2008
On June 19, it will be exactly two years since a law-enforcement task force obtained search warrants and raided the Akron offices of former Evergreen Corp. President David B. Willan.
According to court documents, hundreds of thousands of pages of business files and computer records were seized in those raids.
But when it came time Monday morning for the first prong of the government's case against Willan to go to trial, retired Summit County Common Pleas Judge James E. Murphy admonished prosecutors for not being ready.
That portion of the case — money laundering, a third-degree felony — was dismissed after two closed-door meetings with the judge Monday morning.
Prosecutors claimed that Willan, 37, and his girlfriend, Jamie L. Webb, 22, had helped one another divert company funds from the April 2005 purchase of a $30,000 Ford Explorer for Evergreen
Builders, one of Willan's companies.
The major charges against Willan were filed on Dec. 19 in a 147-count indictment alleging widespread mortgage and securities fraud. That case is scheduled for trial on Sept. 8.
But Murphy, who is handling both cases as a visiting judge, dismissed the money-laundering case after the two meetings with defense and prosecution lawyers in his chambers.
He then told prosecutors in open court that they ''have worked on this case for years and as yet are not ready'' for trial.
Issues arose over the state of the evidence Monday morning before jury selection was to begin.
And when Assistant Prosecutor Richard Hoenigman tried to suggest that the money-laundering charges would be re-indicted as part of the major case later this year, Murphy cut him off.
''You indicted. You better have the evidence,'' the judge said.
''Yes, sir,'' Hoenigman replied.
Hoenigman, as well as most other assistant prosecutors, is not permitted to comment about cases outside court under a policy of Prosecutor Sherri Bevan Walsh.
But Brad Gessner, head of Walsh's criminal division, commented after reading a Beacon Journal story about Monday's dismissal on the newspaper's Web site, Ohio.com.
Gessner said it was the ''intent'' of the prosecutor's office to dismiss the money-laundering indictment and refile it in the major case.
''If we look at a bank robbery, we can say, on a specific date, this is what happened,'' Gessner said. ''We're looking at this [money-laundering case] as this broad spectrum of activities over a long period of time, and the details of every single one of those days is something that takes time to get through.''
However, after Monday's proceedings adjourned, Willan's lawyer, William T. Whitaker, said prosecution claims about fraudulent activity involving the vehicle simply were not valid.
Whitaker said an operating agreement was presented to Murphy during the closed-door meetings showing that Willan had the authority in October 2006 to transfer the vehicle's title.
''That's Number One,'' Whitaker said.
''Number Two, in the same month, he put $47,000 of his own money — far exceeding the value of the vehicle — back into the company, which clearly shows there was no intent to steal.''
Scott A. Rilley, who represented Webb, said they were ready to go to trial Monday morning ''to show she was not guilty of the crime alleged against her.''
''The state has had this case since March,'' Rilley said, ''and they are still continuing to investigate it. There is nothing in their investigative file to show Jamie Webb had any knowledge that their allegations were true.
''All she knew was that he had a vehicle that was titled in his name, took it to [a dealer] and sold it to [the dealer]. That is a perfectly legitimate transaction. The only reason she was charged is that she is David Willan's girlfriend.''
Willan and Webb sat next to one another during the dismissal action and left court together.
Ed Meyer can be reached at 330-996-3784 or emeyer@thebeaconjournal.com.
On June 19, it will be exactly two years since a law-enforcement task force obtained search warrants and raided the Akron offices of former Evergreen Corp. President David B. Willan.
Get the full article here.
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