Paper: Chapel Hill Herald (NC)

Title: Economic official once charged

Embezzlement count dropped before trial
Date: May 25, 2007

CHAPEL HILL -- The man Chapel Hill town officials hired to help the area grow
economically was once arrested on charges of embezzling money from a now-defunct
Charlotte organization he led.

Dwight Bassett was hired last month to serve as Chapel Hill's economic development
officer, a $78,000-a-year position dedicated to working with the Town Council and the
town manager. He is slated to begin work June 4.

Bassett was arrested in January 2003 on charges of embezzlement from OutCharlotte, a

gay cultural organization that closed in the summer of 2003. The charges were dropped
before trial.

"It was just a really bad misunderstanding," Bassett said. "I paid dearly even though I was
not guilty, and I have no further comment."

OutCharlotte, a federally registered nonprofit, was known for an annual festival it held
since 1995.

The group's last Internal Revenue Service filing came for the year 2002, the first year of
Bassett's tenure. It reported a loss of nearly $14,000, after turning a profit of $11,000 the
year before Bassett took over. It spent just less than $60,000 on the festival in 2002, but
more than $79,000 in 2001.

Bassett attributed the group's difficulties and the 2002 red ink to the absence of founder
Dan Kirsch, who stepped down as director in 2001.

Kirsch said in an e-mail that the situation still feels unresolved.

"Everything in this case looks like it was ready to go forward," said Steve Ward, the
assistant district attorney in charge of fraud and property crimes in Mecklenburg County.

The files showed that the district attorney's office planned to drop two charges against
Bassett in exchange for a guilty plea in a third, Ward said.

But the files are incomplete, and Ward blamed Rob Corbett, the assistant district attorney
who handled the case but failed to include an explanation for why the charges were
dropped. Corbett subsequently was moved out of the fraud division. Corbett was in court
and unable to be reached for comment.
Maryann Mueller, co-chairwoman of OutCharlotte at the time, filed a police report in
September 2002 alleging that Bassett "wrote business check #2060, drawn on First
Union, payable to himself in the amount of $2,500.01 and subsequently cashed the
check."

That came the day before he left the organization, following a two-week resignation
notice.

Mueller declined to comment for this article.

From the report

The police report said Bassett's action broke established rules that "any check payable to
himself must be signed by a board member, and any check over $500.00 must be signed
by two board members."

The report also states that Mueller sent him a letter by certified mail asking for the
money's return. The letter was verified as delivered, but was returned.

Mueller then reportedly was told to speak with Bassett's attorney after reaching Bassett
by phone.

Bassett was arrested on Jan. 13, 2003. He pleaded not guilty in September 2003. A jury
trial was scheduled for December of that year, but charges were dismissed before the
court date, according to the Associated Press.

Mueller told Q-Notes -- a regional news source for the gay, lesbian, bisexual and
transgender community -- in September 2003 that the organization's troubles stemmed
from a lack of interest and funding.

"There was a large debt that had accumulated from last year's festival that we've worked
out. We've cleared that debt," Mueller told Q-Notes. "And I think it was a lot to do with
changing times and declining interests."

Members of OutCharlotte's board of directors either didn't return calls or declined to

comment.

Chapel Hill Town Manager Roger Stancil was responsible for hiring Bassett, who most
recently was development manager for the City of Rock Hill, S.C.

Stancil said in a press release at the time of the hiring that he was impressed with
Bassett's "ability to find creative ways to make good things happen."

When asked this week whether he knew of the charges against Bassett at any point in the
hiring process, Stancil said only that no convictions turned up in an initial criminal
background check.

Town Mayor Pro-Tem Bill Strom said last week he knew nothing about the situation.

"The man is going to report to the manager and it was his hire," Strom said.

Town Council member Laurin Easthom said the council was informed at 11:45 p.m.
Monday, after a regular council meeting, that The Herald-Sun had been inquiring into
Bassett's past, and until then had not been told of the charges.

Mayor Kevin Foy said the town did a background check on Bassett and found nothing
that was cause for concern.

"We have full confidence in him," Foy said. "Have you ever been accused of
something?"

Town Council member Mark Kleinschmidt, a criminal defense attorney, said he doesn't
know whether Stancil was aware of the charges when he hired Bassett, but that he is
certain Stancil investigated his new hire as thoroughly as necessary.

"The manager has done due diligence in making an offer," Kleinschmidt said. "I wouldn't
question his judgment."

George Laughrun, Bassett's attorney, declined comment.

"If it's been dismissed, it's been dismissed," he said. "And we don't have any comment on
it."

Copyright, 2007, The Durham Herald Company

Author: Andrew Dunn news@heraldsun.com; 419-6647

Section: Front
Page: 1
Copyright, 2007, The Durham Herald Company