By Phyllis Schaltenbrand
Charita Walker, a part time employee of Penmac Personnel Services, a St. Charles temporary employment agency, admitted in a sworn deposition that she signed a notarized affidavit that she had collected signatures that were on a recall petition when in fact she had not collected the signatures. She said she had been told by Linda Meyer to sign the affidavit after she told Meyer she had not collected the signatures and did not witness them being signed on the recall petition.
Meyer, the wife of a St. Charles police officer who at one time headed the St. Charles Police Officers Association, is heading the Citizens Empowerment Committee. That group is conducting recall efforts against City Councilwoman Dottie Greer and City Councilman Mark Brown. The deposition was being taken regarding the recall effort.
Walker admitted that she falsely swore on the affidavit she had collected the signatures when in fact she had not, because Meyer had told her to sign it.
This revelation of apparent fraud was made under oath in a deposition that was taken on December 14, 2005 in the office of City Attorney Mike Valenti at St. Charles City Hall. Under questioning by Valenti, Walker admitted she had not collected nor witnessed the signatures on the recall form.
According to Walker, the incident occurred on July 9th in Jaycee Park in St. Charles when several employees of Penmac, who were paid to collect signatures for the recall petitions, met there with Meyer and another person who was a notary public.
Also present in addition to Valenti when the admission by Walker was made were John C. Maxwell an attorney who was sitting as a Court Commissioner appointed by Judge Ted House, Attorney Joshua Knight and Attorney Mike Kielty who were representing Meyer; Attorney Eric Tolen, Special Counsel to the St. Charles City Council, Attorney Harold Ellis, St. Charles County Counselor representing the election commissioner and Councilwoman Greer.
Copies of the depositions are available from the St. Charles City Clerk under the Sunshine Law by filing a Freedom of Information request.
Greer and Brown and other members of the Council have complained of fraud during the recall campaign. Council President Rory Riddler made a complaint with the St. Charles Police Department and an investigation is in progress. His complaint involved numerous signatures that appeared to be signed by the same person and inconsistencies of names and dates on the petitions and sworn affidavits. Councilman Mark Brown has filed similar complaints for the St. Charles police department. Police Chief Tim Swope has said that upon completion of the investigations the facts will be presented to St. Charles County Prosecuting Attorney Jack Banas for prosecution.
Kielty and millionaire developer TR Hughes, who is providing financing for the Empowerment Committee, have complained about the investigating detectives going so far as to call them thugs and brown shirts. Kielty made his comments during a City Council meeting.
Despite this information and other information pertaining to fraud that has been discovered in the recall efforts, Mayor York and her followers on the City Council have continued to push for the recall elections.
The City of St. Louis has recently been faced with the same set of circumstances and has halted any further recall efforts and are attempting to bring justice to the political system and prosecute those who are responsible for the fraud.
