Two of the people most entangled in the allegations that prompted a Virginia State Police investigation of Martinsville City Hall are Mayor L.C. Jones and former City Manager Aretha Ferrell-Benavides.
A workplace investigation report by the law firm formerly acting as city attorney, Sands Anderson, prompted the state police investigation. A summary of the report was released in July, and the allegations prompted the firing of Ferrell-Benavides. The report detailed allegations that included fiscal irregularities, questionable hiring practices and conflicts of interest.
The investigation is also tied to a removal case against the mayor, said Commonwealth Attorney Patrick Flinn earlier this year. Virginia State Police are interviewing witnesses and reviewing financial records.
As Jones runs for reelection to city council, there are different stories about his involvement in the investigation. He said this week he has not been asked to be interviewed by state police. At the same time, Gray Collins, the special prosecutor on the case, said he has checked with state police and Jones has been asked.
“I have not been asked, no,” Jones said. “If they have reached out to my attorney, I have not been advised or made aware of it.”
Jones said if he is asked to interview, he will follow his attorney’s advice as to whether he’d talk or not. Jones had not been interviewed as of Thursday, Collins said.
Mark Krudys, Jones’ attorney, did not respond to requests for comment for this story.
In an email Wednesday, Collins wrote, “Mark and I have talked, and he knows that we are always willing to listen.”
Jones said the last formal communication he is aware of with the state police was in January, when all council members were informed that they may be asked to be interviewed.
The state police declined comment for this story.
It is unclear, too, if Ferrell-Benavides has been interviewed. She and her attorneys did not respond to a request for comment.
Collins declined to identify who has talked to state police. But some did acknowledge such communications.
Council members Aaron Rawls, Julian Mei and Kathy Lawson confirmed they were interviewed. The fifth council member, Rayshaun Gravely, did not respond to a request for comment.
Lawson said she had an hours-long interview with the state police seven months ago. She isn’t sure what is taking so long, but she’s “just looking forward to a resolution.”
Rawls said he has had multiple interviews with investigators, starting about a year ago.
Eric Payne, former city attorney and now the director of the city’s economic development authority, said he has had multiple conversations and interviews with investigators, including the attorney general’s office.
“I was happy to speak with the investigators, and I’m happy to cooperate with anyone who wants to hold bad actors accountable and recover any misspent public funds,” Payne said.
As far as where the investigation stands, Collins said he is still waiting for a forensic accountant to help review and clarify what is next.
No one commented on how the active election campaign might be affecting the investigation.
Another question is whether any element of the investigation will be made public prior to the Nov. 3 election. Five candidates are running for two council seats: Michael Greene, Chad Hall, Verna Jenkins, Charles Niederstadt and incumbent Jones.
If Jones is reelected, Patti Covington, who led the recall petition against the mayor earlier this year, said her group would “seriously think about” going through that process again. The petition was dismissed in May because it did not include the legally required number of signatures. Covington said she was told 375 signatures by the registrar, but the judge sided with Jones’ attorney, who said the signatures on the petition were 280 short.
Jones, who maintains his innocence, spoke out against the group in a recent Facebook post — responding to Covington’s post that encouraged residents to “vote for positive change.”
“The same group that fabricated documents filled with lies and false narratives — and used its political ties and relationships to pressure the courts to circumvent the law with a petition — is back with a fresh round of lies and false narratives,” Jones wrote. He referred to the group as a “Jim Crow posse” trying to control the diverse city.
Covington and others who signed the petition say they voted for Jones in the 2022 election.
