A Tale of Miscarriage of Justice: Conspiracy or Coincidence?
VIRGINIA BEACH (July 20, 2007) - - It was in February, 2004 that I got the first call. It was from a man claiming he'd been convicted on federal bank fraud charges and he wasn't guilty.
Heard that story many times in almost 50 years of reporting. I followed my first instinct. I blew him off. He continued to call over several months, but my recorder picked up. "Just as well," I said to myself, "didn't want to be bothered with a sob story from a criminal anyway."
The man kept bugging me by email and telephone calls. Started telling me a story that could be intriguing - IF IT COULD BE PROVED. Set up a meeting in August, '04, but he cancelled - indicating to me that the story couldn't be but so important to him. I forgot about it.
Mike Agnew sent to U.S. Prison - Lee Co., Virginia through conspiracy or incredible coincidences U.S. Bureau of Prisons Photo |
Then his wife started harassing me. She'd been convicted, too. "Are these people never going to give me any rest, I thought to myself." She wanted a meeting. To get her and her husband off my back, I agreed to meet with her on February 8, 2005 in a Denny's Restaurant.
Her name was BARBARA AGNEW. Her husband is MIKE AGNEW. They lived in an upscale waterfront home in Alanton. They owned AGM, a concrete contracting firm. Her husband was now in prison (the reason I hadn't heard anything more from him) She would be facing 2 years as soon as he served his sentence.
What's the story?
They were convicted without a jury by a federal judge who'd been in business with two of the principal victims of an alleged bank fraud. But, she said, there was no bank fraud. She, Mike and AGM were playing by the rules for financing their business that had been set down by the now flawed, troubled Resource Bank - until the bank suddenly changed the rules.
(The first federal judge assigned the case had recused himself simply because he had a son who went to school with the Agnew's children. He didn't have any financial interest with principals like the judge who actually heard their case, convicted, and then sentenced the couple.)
Did a bank examiner see paperwork relating to the way the bank was operating with the Agnews and Armada Hoffler that was illegal? Did the bank go after AGM to give Armada Hoffler and maybe other better connected clients time to clean up their financing relationships with the bank? That's suspected by some.
After a bench trial by Judge Friedman, the pair were convicted of 11 counts of bank fraud, one count of embezzlement, one count of conspiracy to commit embezzlement, three counts of money laundering, and one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering. The charges represented a smorgasbord of piled on charges to cover changes in a financing arrangement the bank had authorized to be used by them since day 1 when they started dealing with the bank. |
And wasn't it interesting that there was a lot of insider trading of Resource Bank stock just days before it would have been ILLEGAL, after an announcement was made that the local bank was being bought by Pennsylvania-based Fulton Financial? And would Fulton have backed out of the deal if they'd known about how Resource was really operating? During their due diligance did they see the financing documents the bank was using in the 'maverick' financing arrangements? And was Resource operating within its legal lending limits at the time of the purchse? It wasn't when they were dealing with the Agnews. Did Fulton know if Resource Bank had a ligitimate case or was simply making the Agnews scapegoats to cover otherwise questionable banking practices and policies?
Not the happiest of families, despite the smiles Smiling on the outside, Katelin, left, and Sam, right, are happy Dad is finally home from prison, but his presence only meant that their mother was taken away to Camp Cupcake - the West Virginia federal prison famous recently for the likes of Martha Stewart Photo courtesy Agnew Family Collection |
Barbara had a lot of questions. She also had a lot of answers, but not enough originally to link all of the connected players that later surfaced during her and VNS' investigation into the circumstances surrounding the case. But she won't stop looking until every rock is overturned and the motives and interests of all involved have been exposed.
Investigation? What investigation?
An FBI agent investigating the case, who later testified against the Agnews, got a substantial loan through the bank during the investigation. An AGM employee who turned state's evidence, whom Mike and Barbara claim committed perjury, also got a loan through the bank after her damaging testimony.
Another FBI agent, the woman who initiated the investigation (without the bank even filing a complaint), resigned and got married before the trial. Barbara says, the agent was asked by top bank officers, "Where's your (wedding) registry, we'd like to get you something nice." This same X-agent sat in on the trial. During breaks she went into the hallway and talked with bank witnesses, including a bank lawyer, and officers. Did she illegally relay testimony to the bank and federal prosecutors? Witnesses were excluded to keep them from talking to each other. That didn't apply to the X-FBI agent because she wasn't a witness - for anyone. She could listen to all testimony and talk to anyone she wanted during the trial. But was it legal?
When is evidence not evidence? When it's tampered with or faulty
Witnesses committed perjury. Evidence was illegally seized and left unsecured for anyone to plunder unlimited for almost 3 months in the Resource Bank's offices before the FBI took custody of it by subpoena to Barbara who just happened to be in the bank's lobby at the time. But she hadn't had custody of it for 3 months. A crucial computer harddrive needed by the defense disappeared into the bowels of the FBI and NO copy or original of it ever surfaced during the trial. (A supposed 'mirror' copy provided the Agnews could never be opened, even by forensic computer experts, and was useless).
Exculpatory interview notes that would have been beneficial to the Agnews' defense were destoyed by the FBI, an act officials tell VNS was illegal and prohibited under FBI policy.
The Agnews' assets were illegally seized by the bank. You won't believe what the bank has now offered to get them to settle any future claims against it.
A top 30 year veteran with the Department of Justice confided to VNS, "In all my years with the government, I've never, ever in my life encountered a conviction like this on such flimsy, questionable evidence, so poorly handled by the FBI and prosecutors."
Former Secy. of State James Baker's DC law firm took the Agnews' appeal pro bono and spent more than $200,000 of the firm's own money. The 4th Circuit Court of Appeals rejected the appeal that the Baker lawyer said was a 'strong case' (or the firm wouldn't have taken it for free). And even the politiial tenacles tracing from X-Gov. Wilder all the way back to the beach and Dan Hoffler reached into the 4th Circuit Court where one of the judges had been Wilder's law partner. (The Agnews lawyer had been the clerk for Supreme Court Justice William Renhquist before joining the Baker, Botts firm). The firm couldn't afford to carry the Agnews' appeal further and obviously the Agnews didn't have the money to do so.
The Reluctant Witness
One person who said he knew the role of the contractor behind the Agnews' plight clammed up out of fear and refused to talk. I drove out of town to do a 'sandbag' interview after he refused to meet with me. I took a secret recorder, and a friend who'd worked clandestinely with the CIA, DoD, and DEA.
After more or less forcing our way into the man's office, he said, "Yeah, I know who's behind the Agnews' problems, but I ain't talking."
He said, "I'd be a dead man tomorrow. My business would be destroyed along with my family."
"I'll make you a deal," I offered. "Talk to me, tell me the story off-the-record and I'll never reveal your name in the story. If you don't talk to me, I'll say you know the real story and I'll put your name in the story and say you refused to talk,"
"No. You can't make me talk. Put a gun to my head right now and kill me. Because that's what'll happen when you run the story anyway, but I ain't talking."
A big guy who could protect himself, was reduced to a whimpering blob of protoplasm. He would not talk to save the Agnews and their family and their business. "No matter how right it is, I'm not saying a word," he told us. "Are you going to use my name in the story?" he asked as we prepared to leave. "No." I told him, "I won't do that to you."
The Proof is in the public (domain)
OK. How much of this incredible story could we prove, I asked Barbara Agnew? "All of it, " she said. She had reams of public documents. Turned out she was a better investigative reporter than I'd ever been.
I made one last attempt to dump the story. It appeared too massive for Virginia News Source. VNS didn't have the resources to tell this story adequately. "Have you given this to the Virginian-Pilot?" I asked. Spitting out her words, "Yes. They won't touch it," Barbara said.
Looked like VNS was stuck, but I offered to give up the story at any time. In fact, I called an old colleague at the Pilot, outlined it, but after making a cursory inquiry the Pilot passed. "I think it was too complicated for them to get their arms around," the X-Justice official said. Some contend it is because so many important people are impacted by the story that the local newspaper won't touch it.
Therefore, VNS has been investigating the case since that meeting with Barbara in February 2005. We traveled to the federal prison in isolated Lee County, Virginia to meet and interview Mike. (No monster here. Just a nice, decent looking fellow. Educated. Knew what he was talking about). We looked at thousands of documents.
Mike is now out of prison. Barbara is in. This one-and-then-the-other deal was cut with the judge because the couple have two teens who've been honor roll students since originally enrolling in Norfolk Academy in kindergarten. With this sentencing arrangement, somebody this way could always be with the children. (Probably the only decent thing the judge did for them, Barbara said.)
Starting in the next week, VNS will start telling you the rest of this incredible story.
From the lowest level to the highest. At some point almost everyone known by officials of Resource Bank and star customer Armada Hoffler touched the Agnew case, all the way through the appeal court where an appellate judge who started X-Gov. Doug Wilder's first law firm with him - way back when - rejected the Agnews' case. (Oh, by the way, Doug Wilder was/is one of Dan Hoffler's best friends - they went through a lot together).
The saga hasn't ended yet. It continues to this very day.