Petersburg police and four other city agencies ends without further charges

The missing money led Petersburg prosecutors to seek the dismissal of charges against at least three criminal defendants because monetary evidence in their cases inexplicably disappeared.

October 11, 2019

A special prosecutor appointed three years ago to investigate more than $10,000 in missing cash from the Petersburg Bureau of Police's evidence room and allegations of financial improprieties at four other city agencies has ended the probe without filing further criminal charges, Petersburg's chief prosecutor said Friday.

Petersburg Commonwealth's Attorney Cheryl Wilson said in a news release that her office received the news after requesting an update on the status of the investigations, which began Jan. 1, 2016, with a request that the Chesterfield County prosecutor's office investigate the missing money.

On Oct. 7, 2016, a second request was made to investigate allegations of financial improprieties in the city's Treasurer's Office; Finance and Budget Office; Public Utilities Department; and Petersburg Area Transit. The special prosecutor's probe led to an embezzlement conviction against a former Petersburg treasurer.

The missing money led Petersburg prosecutors to seek the dismissal of charges against at least three criminal defendants because monetary evidence in their cases inexplicably disappeared.

In one of the more significant cases, a marijuana distribution charge was dismissed against a Petersburg man after a city prosecutor indicated the case was tainted because it was tied to the then-ongoing investigation of missing cash from the police department's property and evidence room. The roughly $4,000 that police seized from the defendant disappeared.

Former Deputy Police Chief William Rohde, who in 2015 disclosed that a large sum of cash was discovered missing before he retired in September of that year, said Friday that many officers at the time felt disheartened because members of the public would ask them about the missing money while they were out on calls.

But Rohde said the officers were encouraged when state police and the FBI began to investigate, because they felt someone was finally going to get to the bottom of what happened and hold those responsible to account.

But as time wore on and nothing happened, they again became discouraged, Rohde said.

"I talked to several people [Friday] who said, 'I have been waiting for years for this to be wrapped up, so that even though I'm no longer there, the people who were responsible would be held accountable,' " Rohde said. "But it's not going to happen."

The problems came as Petersburg teetered on the brink of financial collapse. The city's fund balance plummeted from $15.4 million in the 2010 fiscal year to a $7.7 million deficit by 2016.

Questions surrounding the Treasurer's Office under Brown swirled as city officials clamped down on money coming into city coffers.

In June 2017, Brown denied allegations that he or anyone in his office had pocketed petty cash or possibly engaged in a scheme to defraud taxpayers — accusations that were raised in the PBMares report. The auditors said that $2,317 in cash went missing from Brown's office under his leadership and that he admitted taking it. PBMares also found incidents of Brown waiving tax penalties, interest and occasionally principal debt.

"The city treasurer admitted to us that he had done these waivers knowing that it was impermissible and/or a violation of the Code of Virginia, but denied that he had misappropriated any city funds other than petty cash," the 2017 report said.

Ferrell-Benavides said she did not have any information about the specific allegations involving Petersburg Area Transit, the Finance and Budget Office or the Public Utilities Department.