By Mike Gangloff
The Roanoke Times
BEDFORD COUNTY, Va. — Cory Shifflett, the son of former Bedford County volunteer fire chief Jeffrey Shifflett, pleaded guilty today to seven counts of embezzlement, throwing himself on the mercy of the court.
“His position is he wants to take responsibility and make things right,” Bedford County Commonwealth’s Attorney Randy Krantz said after this morning’s hearing in the county Circuit Court.
Cory Shifflett, 23, was charged earlier this year along with his father and his mother, Deborah Shifflett, with taking between $150,000 and $200,000 of fire department money over the past two years.
Jeffrey Shifflett, 51, died of an apparently self-inflicted gunshot wound in July, the day after he was indicted on 14 forgery and embezzlement charges. Deborah Shifflett, 38, faces 13 felony charges and is scheduled for trial on Jan. 19.
Krantz said Jeffrey Shifflett had worked with the volunteer fire department for at least a decade and had done a lot of good for the county. But eventually he was elected chief for life — an unusual situation for the county’s volunteer departments, Krantz said — and basically had a free hand to run things as he pleased. The prosecutor blamed the misuse of fire department money on “a consolidation of power in one person and a sense of entitlement.”
Krantz said investigators think the embezzlement may well have begun prior to 2007, but that the evidence from that point forward was sufficient to take to trial.
The Shiffletts’ case prompted Bedford County supervisors last summer to adopt a new fiscal accountability policy for groups that receive county money.
There was no plea agreement in Cory Shifflett’s case and his sentencing will be up to the judge, Krantz said. A sentencing date has not been set.
Copyright 2009 The Roanoke Times