West Virginia
WSAZ Investigates | Conflict of Interest
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CHARLESTON, W.Va. (WSAZ) – For months, we’ve been hearing concerns about issues within the West Virginia Department of Transportation.
Those issues include — the now head of the agency — awarding projects with hundreds of thousands of state and federal dollars to the company where his son works.
Since then, we’ve been looking into laws and found important disclosures about conflicts of interest that appear to never have been filed.
Two bridge projects — the Glenville truss and Burnsville T-beam — both involve hundreds of thousands of state and federal dollars.
We found that both projects were awarded to Michael Baker International Inc. for consulting or engineering.
Here’s the problem: Jimmy Wriston is the secretary of West Virginia’s Department of Transportation.
At the time the projects were awarded in 2020 and 2021, Wriston was deputy secretary and deputy commissioner. WSAZ obtained documents showing during that time that Wriston also served on the committee that selects which consultant should receive projects they apply for.
In these cases, Michael Baker International was selected. According to a LinkedIn page, Wriston’s son has worked for Michael Baker for more than 15 years as a civil engineer specializing in bridge and transportation structure design, analysis, and inspection.
So, we looked into the federal code of regulations. According to Section 172.7/Section 4, which pertains to conflict of interest: “
(ii) no employee, officer or agent of the contracting agency shall participate in selection, or in the award or administration of a contract supported by federal-aid funds if a conflict of interest, real or apparent, would be involved. Such a conflict arises when there is a financial or other interest in the consultant selected for award by:
(b) any member of his or her immediate family;
(d) an organization that employs or is about to employ any of the above.
The regulation goes on to state, “A contracting agency shall promptly disclose in writing any potential conflict of interest to FHWA.”
So, we sent the Federal Highways Administration a Freedom of Information Act Request for any and all written notice(s) submitted by current WVDOH Secretary Jimmy Wriston, under his current and previous roles in the agency, regarding a potential conflict of interest (real or apparent).
Thursday morning, we received a response to our request – that reads, “A search for records located in the FHWA West Virginia Division Office has revealed no responsive records.”
We asked FHWA for an interview or comment since the lack of disclosures appears to be a violation of federal law.
We haven’t heard back yet.
Patrick McGinley is a professor at West Virginia University College of Law. WSAZ’s Sarah Sager asked his thoughts about the issue.
Sager: “The biggest issue that I’m focused on right now is this conflict of interest issue especially when it comes to federal funds. What do you think should have happened here?”
McGinley: I think a government agency like the West Virginia Department of Transportation, especially when it’s handling millions of dollars of contracts, should always err on the side of disclosure and transparency. This situation really cries out for the government agency to be transparent. Answer the questions of the media and put this to rest or if there were problems that should be disclosed.
Then, Sager reached out to the Department of Transportation, informing them WSAZ has documents showing an apparent conflict of interest —and asking for an interview with Secretary Wriston.
A spokesperson first responded with only, “Please provide the documents you are referring to.”
Sager asked again if Secretary Wriston was available to speak with us. We were told, “We will evaluate your request once we have an opportunity to review the documents you are referring to.”
Sager responded, saying “I would be happy to discuss the documents at an in-person meeting during an interview. Is he available?”
The spokesperson did not respond.
Sager also called Michael Baker’s Charleston office. No one answered, so she left a message.
She even reached out to the Governor’s Office, but a spokesperson didn’t answer. Sager followed up with a text message, asking to speak to the governor about a matter with the Division of Highways but was told they would need more details. Sager asked if they could give her a call, but she had not heard back.
She also reached back out to the Department of Transportation with specific questions in hopes of getting a comment for this story.
Some of her questions for Secretary Wriston include:
– Why did you not notify federal highways about the potential conflict of interest?
– Should you have served on the selection committee for projects involving the company that employs your son?
Sager will continue to try to reach Secretary Wriston and Gov. Jim Justice for answers.
WSAZ is also looking into several other matters brought to us concerning issues within the department.
We’ll keep you updated as soon as we get more information. Keep checking the WSAZ app for the latest.
Copyright 2023 WSAZ. All rights reserved.
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West Virginia
West Virginia has one of the most dangerous parks in America
![West Virginia has one of the most dangerous parks in America](https://www.wtrf.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/25/2024/04/NRG_Bridge_Sunrise-2-e1713468123729.jpg?w=1280)
WEST VIRGINIA (WTRF) – West Virginia boasts some magnificent parks, but one study warns visitors to be cautious when visiting this Mountain State marvel.
Personal injury litigators at Triumph Law, P.C. found that New River Gorge National Park & Preserve is the seventh most dangerous national park in the US.
New River Gorge has 5 deaths per 1 million visits.
Someone dies in a national park every 29 hours and most deaths are due to human factors rather than nature.
Top 10 Most Dangerous National Parks in America
#
National Park
State(s) / District / Territory
Average yearly visits
Total deaths (2013-2023)
Deaths per 1 million visits
1
Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument
AZ
215,881
60
25.27
2
Virgin Islands National Park
VI
299,756
33
10.01
3
Upper Delaware Scenic & Recreational River
NY, PA
252,268
17
6.13
4
Colorado National Monument
CO
441,356
29
5.97
5
Big Bend National Park
TX
431,241
28
5.90
6
Denali National Park & Preserve
AK
478,153
28
5.32
7
New River Gorge National Park & Preserve
WV
1,291,650
72
5.07
8
Redwood National and State Parks
CA
444,254
22
4.50
9
Death Valley National Park
CA, NV
1,219,446
51
3.80
10
Sequoia & Kings Canyon National Parks
CA
1,680,761
69
3.73
The study analyzed data from official fatality rates occurring in 153 popular national parks across America. it gathered data from the US National Park Service spanning 11 years, from the beginning of 2013 until the end of 2023.
West Virginia
West Virginia white couple alleged to have kept five adopted black children ‘locked in barn and used as slaves’
![West Virginia white couple alleged to have kept five adopted black children ‘locked in barn and used as slaves’](https://e3.365dm.com/24/06/1600x900/skynews-west-virginia-children_6590978.jpg?20240626031828)
A white couple from West Virginia have been accused of child neglect after allegedly forcing their adopted black children to work as ‘slaves’ and locking them in a barn.
Donald Ray Lantz, 63, and Jeanne Kay Whitefeather, 62, pleaded not guilty at Kanawha County court on Tuesday to multiple charges, including human trafficking of a minor child, use of a minor child in forced labour, and child neglect creating substantial risk of serious bodily injury or death, according to local news outlet Metro News.
They also face allegations of human rights violations, over specifically targeting black children and forcing them to work because of their race, Metro News said.
Kanawha County circuit Judge Maryclaire Akers claimed that the children were “used basically as slaves”, citing what the indictment alleges.
The couple were first arrested in October 2023 after a wellness check led to the discovery of two of the couple’s five adopted children – aged six, nine, 11, 14 and 16 – living in inhumane conditions at a property in Sissonville.
In a previous statement made to the court, Whitefeather alleged that the barn where the 14 and 16-year-old were found in was a “teenage clubhouse” and denied that they were locked in.
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A nine-year-old girl was found inside the main house before Lantz came home with an 11-year-old boy and later, Whitefeather returned with a six-year-old.
Their bail has been set at $500,000 each, up from the previous amount of $200,000.
A trial date for the couple has been set for 9 September.
West Virginia
July hearing set for senator’s challenge of election results • West Virginia Watch
![July hearing set for senator’s challenge of election results • West Virginia Watch](https://westvirginiawatch.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Chandler-Swope.jpg)
A hearing has been scheduled in the case of a West Virginia senator challenging the results of the primary election, which he lost.
Sen. Chandler Swope, R-Mercer, filed a challenge to the election results in seven Mingo County precincts after losing the Republican primary to opponent Craig Hart.
The hearing will be at 9 a.m. July 18 at the Mingo County Courthouse.
In a notice filed earlier this month, Swope said he intends to challenge all votes cast in seven precincts in Mingo County. He requested to examine poll books across the county and reserves the right to amend the challenge to include additional precincts if irregularities are found.
According to the West Virginia Secretary of State’s Office, Hart won 75% or 2,152 votes in Mingo County, while Swope captured 364 and former state Del. Eric Porterfield had 344.
In total, Hart won the election with 4,847 votes amounting to about 40%, while Swope had 4,384 votes, or approximately 37%. Porterfield had 2,633 or 22% of the votes.
Swope’s challenge includes four affidavits and an unsworn letter from Mingo County voters alleging irregularities with the primary election.
Based on the voter accounts and a Republican turnout of more than 70% percent in 12 of 28 precincts, compared with an approximately 47% Republican turnout for the county during the 2020 primary, Swope’s challenge says it appears many Mingo County voters were improperly given a choice about which primary they wanted to participate in, rather than being given the ballot of their respective party registration.
“These issues span multiple precincts, and in all likelihood, explain the unusually high number of Republican ballots submitted,” Swope’s challenge said.
In a joint motion, Swope and Hart requested a procedural hearing around July 1 to discuss procedural issues ahead of the July 18 hearing. They noted that both have filed Freedom of Information Act requests with the Mingo County Clerk’s Office.
Anthony Majestro, a Charleston attorney representing Hart, said the Mingo commission has agreed to allow them to review the poll books Friday to see if it’s mathematically possible for Swope to win the election in the challenged precincts.
Majestro said Swope’s challenge of specific precincts raises issues of disenfranchising people who correctly voted and possibly affecting other races. Swope’s argument about the high percentage of Republican votes cast in the primary is misleading, Majestro said, because it does not take into account independent voters, the number of which have increased in the past few years as the number of registered Democrats has declined.
According to the West Virginia Secretary of State’s office, in April 2020, Mingo County had 3,291 registered Republicans, 12,691 registered Democrats and 1,987 independent voters. As of April 2024, the county has 5113 registered Republicans, 7,202 Democrats and 2,295 independent voters.
“It shouldn’t surprise anybody that the independents are voting in the Republican primary rather than the Democratic primary, because there were no contested races in the Democratic primary …no local races contested,” Majestro said.
Swope was one of four West Virginia senators to lose seats during the primary election last month.
Mingo County Commission President Nathan Brown did not immediately return a call seeking comment.
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