District Attorney Ricky Smith has the case file for the embezzlement charge against former Vicksburg Housing Authority maintenance supervisor Charles Jones Jr., and said it will be presented to the Warren County grand jury in October unless federal embezzlement charges are first brought against Jones.

“We did receive the case today,” Smith said Friday. “We are still waiting to find out more about the federal investigation, and absent something happening on their end I anticipate it being presented to the October grand jury.”

Jones, 45, faces trial in November on an indictment accusing him of accepting a 2.2-pound shipment of cocaine at VHA headquarters. The embezzlement accusation came after his home at 924 Bowmar Ave. was searched by Vicksburg and state authorities., who reportedly found tens of thousands of dollars in tools, appliances and other merchandise. Then-Police Chief Tommy Moffett said purchase orders paid with VHA funds matched serial numbers on the items.

The VHA is not a federal agency, but deals mostly in federal funds through the Department of Housing and Urban Development, which had given the local operation good reviews until Jones was arrested. Since then, federal authorities reportedly have been conducting their own review.

Smith said his knowledge of the federal case has come largely from second- and third-hand sources. While Smith did not receive the case file in time to present it to the grand jurors meeting this month, he said he would have waited anyway.

“I would just hate to use our time and resources to have him indicted on the state charges and then have it taken over as a federal case,” Smith said. “As it was, we had already wound up with one of the largest grand juries in August we’ve had.”

Police Lt. Bobby Stewart, a regular spokesman for the department, personally has been working on the Jones case.

“When you’re working an embezzlement case like this, a crime involving a lot of paperwork, it’s just real time-consuming,” said Stewart. “What we were trying to avoid was having (Jones) indicted on one embezzlement charge and then coming back three months later with another one. We’re trying to wrap it all up in one case.”

Moffett, who said he initiated the investigation into Jones five years ago, said the federal probe has nothing to do with the local embezzlement case. Replaced by Police Chief Walter Armstrong in a 2-1 vote by the mayor and aldermen in early July, Moffett said he felt the case should have been presented to the August grand jury and that he had made sure it was ready to go before he was replaced as chief.

“We have copies of the purchase orders showing this stuff was ordered by the housing authority and copies of checks showing the housing authority paid for it. We have copies of invoices that show Charles Jones signed for this stuff from the vendors and personally picked it up,” Moffett said. “I mean, what more can they be waiting on?”

Stewart said he was running down vendors and subpoenaing companies for more information through July to ensure all of the items believed stolen were included in one embezzlement charge against Jones. Nonetheless, he said, no additional charges will be forthcoming.

Jones has been free on a $250,000 bond since four days after his arrest Dec. 19 by local and state narcotics officers. The separate embezzlement arrest and charge followed several weeks later and Jones posted an additional $50,000 bond.

Despite the garage-full of items police discovered at his home, Jones is charged with stealing $4,370.55 worth of VHA property — including water heaters and air conditioners. Investigators have not been able to find documents linking the rest of the merchandise to the VHA.

Former VHA Exeuctive Director Jim Stirgus Sr., who was fired by the VHA Board of Commissioners in May, has said he does not believe Jones stole from the housing authority and that he had allowed Jones to store VHA property at his home for the past 15 years. Before being fired by Stirgus following his arrest, Jones had worked for the VHA since 1983 and been in charge of maintenance, purchasing and receiving since 1991. Stirgus faces no charges, and adamantly has denied any knowledge of or participation in any illegal activities while at the helm of the housing authority.

Jones was indicted by a grand jury in May on the drug charges, which include possession and possession with intent to distribute. If convicted, he faces up to 46 years in prison, and maximum penalties are imposed consecutively. If indicted on the embezzlement charge, Jones could face up to 10 years in prison.

Stewart said he believes the federal investigation involves a probe into whether Jones was involved with or owned companies that were doing hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of contract work with the VHA while he was an employee.

VHA Chairman Jay Kilroy has uncovered a number of documents that appear to show Jones was involved with, and possibly owned, several companies that were contracting with the VHA. One of those companies, Central City Services and Supply, allegedly was contracted to do nearly $100,000 worth of work for the VHA in 2001, while another called Phoenix Enterprise has been paid about $72,365 for materials from 2001 through September 2008. Included in the Pheonix Enterprise payment history Kilroy showed his fellow commissioners in May were copies of checks — all of which were signed by Stirgus — and some that were endorsed or cashed by Jones.

The Warren County grand jury is scheduled to begin hearing criminal cases on Oct. 26.

*

Contact Steve Sanoski at ssanoski@vicksburgpost.com