BENTONVILLE — A Benton County jury acquitted County Judge Dave Bisbee late Friday of two ethics-related misdemeanor charges and reached a mistrial on the third charge.
The acquittal and mistrial came days before Bisbee faces challenger Bob Clinard of Rogers in the Republican primary runoff for county judge on Tuesday.
Bisbee said he felt vindicated by the jury’s verdict. He hugged family members,friends and supporters who gathered at the Benton County Courthouse
“I hate what my family has gone through,” Bisbee said.
ProsecutingAttorney Van Stone said he respected the jury’s decisions but plans to seek another trial.
“We believe David Bisbee broke the law by helping his business partner,” Stone said “ We are going to retry it to a Benton County jury. We will start Monday if they want to.”
Had Bisbee been convicted, he faced fines and removal from office.
Bisbee served for 16 years in the state Legislature, six of them in the House of Representatives and 10 in the Senate. He began work Jan. 1, 2009, as county judge, which is the chief executive of county government in Arkansas.
Prosecutors brought charges against Bisbee in April, saying he hired Valley Homes, a construction company he owned at the time, to complete a county remodeling job in December. Stone asked Bisbee to resign from office in exchange for no charges being filed, but the county judge refused.
The ethics charges alleged Bisbee used his office or influence to advance the personal economic interest of an associate and to advance the interest of a company Bisbee owned with his wife, Linda.
The jury acquitted Bisbee on two counts that he used his influence and position as judge for personal gain. The jury hung on the count thataddressed using his influence and position for his associate’s gain.
The original arrest affidavit primarily concerned the remodeling of the county’s satellite offices on Poplar Street in Rogers for the county tax collector and assessor. The bid was $15,000 for that work, but the final bill was $21,126, which is above the $20,000 threshold requiring competitive bidding. And the job was given to Valley Homes, of which Bisbee was part owner at the time.
Bisbee had said he chose his company because the first estimate he received, $16,560, was too high and the work couldn’t be done quickly enough.
Bisbee denied any legal or ethical wrongdoing when he was questioned by his attorney, Asa Hutchinson, in Thursday’s testimony of the four-day trial.
Hutchinson said Bisbee did not receive any financial benefits from the project and that the county judge did not try to manipulate the system. Bisbee’s only intent was to get a job completed for the county, Hutchinson said.
Bisbee said in trial testimony that he transferred the Valley Homes to his business associate and the vice president of the company, Gary Wierman. Bisbee testified that the two men unknowingly operated separately under the same business name for a time.
Bisbee said he was aware Wierman was awarded the bid in December but learned in January that Valley Homes was listed on the building permit.
“I thought the county was doing the job and Gary Wierman was the subcontractor,” Bisbee said in testimony Thursday. He testified he did not know the building permit for the project was under the name of Valley Homes.
Justice of the Peace Robert Stephenson filed complaints about Bisbee’s actions with the state Contractors Licensing Board and the prosecutor’s office. Stephenson was one of Bisbee’s opponents in the Republican primary for county judge May 18.
Special Judge John Walton Cole presided over the case after six Benton County judges recused.
Northwest Arkansas, Pages 8 on 06/05/2010