Published: September 10, 2007 11:56 pm      

Charge against Boyd EMS director dropped

CATLETTSBURG — On the recommendation of a prosecutor, a judge on Monday dismissed a felony theft charge against the director of Boyd County Emergency Medical Services.

Special Prosecutor Kimberly Compton recommended to Boyd Circuit Judge Marc I. Rosen that the charge against Tom Adams be dropped because there was no evidence to indicate Adams was guilty of any wrongdoing.

Adams, a longtime paramedic and firefighter who was named Boyd EMS director in August 2006, was indicted in May, along with former Cannonsburg Fire Chief Steve Clevenger. The two were charged with one count each of theft by failure to make required disposition.

The indictments against Clevenger and Adams allege in August 2002 the two men used $2,340 in fire department money to lease equipment from Whayne Supply Co. for Clevenger’s personal use.

The charges stemmed from an investigation of the fire department’s financial records that was launched after the department’s governing board turned over the records to the Kentucky State Police in January 2006.

Clevenger pleaded guilty to the charge Monday as part of a deal in which other counts pending against him were dismissed.

Adams was charged because his signature was on the check that was used to pay for the equipment rental. However, according to Adams’ attorney, David Mussetter, the checks used by the fire department required two signatures. Adams, he said, would routinely sign groups of blank checks so they would be available whenever they were needed.

“The only evidence against him was his signature on the check,” Mussetter said in court Monday.

Adams wasn’t present when the equipment was rented and it was not used to benefit him in any way, according to Mussetter.

Compton, an assistant commonwealth’s attorney for Lawrence, Johnson and Martin counties who was appointed to the case after then-Boyd Commonwealth’s Attorney J. Stewart Schneider recused himself, said she had investigated the matter and was satisfied that Adams had done nothing wrong.

Mussetter said his client was pleaded to be able to put the matter behind him.

“I think everyone has learned something from this unfortunate experience,” he said.

KENNETH HART can be reached at khart@dailyindependent.com or (606) 326-2654.