Shameful
Incredible and unbelievable.
That probably summed up the reaction of many local residents when they read in the Herald-Standard on Friday that the Fayette County commissioners had appointed a convicted embezzler to the Fayette County Airport Authority Board.
The appointment of Monty “Cash” Lilley had come via a unanimous vote by the commissioners.
And this wasn’t some simple scheme. In fact, it was one of the worst white-collar crimes imaginable, involving the theft of $3.1 million from the pensions of approximately 100 workers. Lilley was ordered to serve 30 months in prison and pay $3 million in restitution.
In the memorandum opinion written by then-District Judge Alan N. Bloch, Lilley’s actions were called “abhorrent.”
“Monty Lilley virtually wiped out the plan’s funds by converting assets to his own personal use,” wrote Bloch. “(He) used the funds in the plan to purchase the company from its prior owner; to pay back rent owned by (his) real estate company; to pay back rent on his personal residence; to pay corporate debts of the company; to make a deposit on the purchase of his personal residence; to pay the balance of closing costs on his personal residence; and to purchase a $10,000 Harley Davidson motorcycle.
“From the plan’s assets of in excess of $3 million, (Lilley) embezzled and willfully appropriated all except approximately $3,000,” added Bloch.
So, how the heck did someone with this type of background get appointed to an authority, which handles hundreds of thousands of dollars in grants and taxpayer funds? That’s the question that the commissioners will have to answer at some point, the sooner the better.
The answer we don’t want to hear is that the commissioners knew nothing about Lilley’s background. It was only last year that the commissioners reappointed Larry Markwood to its Industrial Development Authority. The only problem was that Markwood had died in 2012.
The commissioners deservedly took a lot of heat for the appointment, and they all vowed to scrutinize such selections more carefully in the future. Vince Zapotosky chose not to seek re-election and Al Ambrosini was defeated in his re-election bid last fall, leaving Angela Zimmerlink as the lone holdover from last year. As such, she certainly should get the lion’s share of criticism for the appointment of Lilley to the board. It’s either incompetency or negligence, and neither of those attributes are befitting of a county commissioner. Simply put, Zimmerlink failed to do her job in fully vetting this appointment.
However, the other commissioners Vince Vicites and Dave Lohr also share in this fiasco. Vicites was in office for 16 years prior to being elected last fall. He certainly should know the importance of making background checks on such appointments, especially one as important as the Fayette County Airport Authority Board. While he’s a newcomer, Lohr was elected to provide insight as a businessmen and an outsider. Unfortunately, neither of those traits helped him here.
The bottom line is the commissioners have to do a much better job in this area. It’s an embarrassment not just for the commissioners but for all county residents, who have to put up with this nonsense. We said it last year, and we’ll say it again. This can’t be allowed to happen. We can only hope it sinks in this time.
Also, Lilley must resign his post. He left the airport authority board meeting without saying whether he would step down or not. He has no choice. He must step down. If he doesn’t, then the commissioners should rescind the appointment and find a more qualified candidate for the post. Of course, that’s something they should have done in the first place.