A Mingo County signmaker, whose illegal arrest was at the center of a federal investigation that landed several county officeholders in prison, settled a lawsuit over his arrest this week.
An insurance company on Monday agreed to pay George White $120,000 on behalf of the Mingo County Commission, former county commissioner David Baisden, the city of Williamson and former Williamson police chief David Rockel,
White, whose felony drug conviction was thrown out after former Mingo circuit judge Michael Thornsbury and former Mingo prosecuting attorney Michael Sparks pleaded guilty to related charges in federal court, filed a lawsuit saying his constitutional rights had been violated.
Thornsbury and Sparks agreed to pay White out of their own pockets, as the National Union Fire Insurance Company of Pittsburgh refused to cover them after their convictions in federal court, David Barney, one of White's attorneys said Wednesday.
White was arrested in 2013 after Eugene Crum, then the county's sheriff, allegedly sent an undercover investigator to buy pills from White. Federal prosecutors say that Crum had White, who owned a sign-making business in Delbarton, arrested rather than pay him about $3,000 for campaign signs.
White's lawsuit stated that Crum arranged for a confidential police informant to frame White. The informant said he purchased three oxycodone tablets from White, "even though no such transaction transpired," the lawsuit states. Rockel and Crum also planted evidence at White's business, the lawsuit alleges.
Once White was arrested, he allegedly began talking to federal investigators about how he supplied Crum with pills.
When the sheriff found out, federal prosecutors say, he and other Mingo officials - including Sparks and Baisden - hatched a scheme to keep White quiet.
They allegedly got a message to White's brother and told him that if he stopped talking to investigators about Crum and fired Charles "Butch" West as his attorney, Thornsbury, would give him a light sentence. White agreed and pleaded guilty to the drug charges. Shortly after that, Thornsbury, Sparks and Baisden all were charged with various federal offenses.
Both Thornsbury and Sparks admitted to charges in relation to White. Baisden was convicted of an unrelated matter.
White spent about 240 days in jail before he was released and his sentenced was vacated and the charges dismissed.
"This ends a sad chapter in George White's life," Barney said. "He has reached a settlement with the defendants but, basically, there's no winning in this case."
White hopes to soon reopen his sign business, his attorney said. Williamson attorney West also represents him still.
"No amount of money can compensate for the time he spent in jail or the stuff he's gone through, but this will at least help him get a fresh start," Barney said.
Reach Kate White at kate.white@wvgazettemail.com, 304-348-1723 or follow @KateLWhite on Twitter.