A grand jury has charged the executive director of the Thomaston Housing Authority, her husband and another man in a 30-count federal indictment alleging the three Thomaston residents conspired to steal government money.
Housing Authority Executive Director Sherry Darlene McDaniel; her husband, 57-year-old Lance McDaniel; and 49-year-old Steven Wayne Williams are charged with conspiracy and theft of government money. Darlene McDaniel, 43, additionally is charged with embezzling money by converting a housing authority credit card to her own use, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Darlene McDaniel is accused of honoring contracts with the Steve Williams Painting Contractor business, which employed her husband as a full-time employee doing work for the housing authority, without any review or authorization from the organization’s board of directors, according to the indictment that was filed last week.
Lance McDaniel’s lawyer, Charles E. Cox Jr., confirmed that his client performed painting work for the housing authority and was paid for those jobs.
Cox said he thinks the evidence in the case will show the board knew Lance McDaniel was doing the painting work.
The case involves painting contracts entered into by a previous housing authority executive director, said Brian Jarrard, Darlene McDaniel’s lawyer.
After being promoted to the executive director position, McDaniel approached the board of directors “to avoid even an appearance of impropriety” to ask whether she should continue the contracts. She was told to continue the contracts until they expired, Jarrard said in an e-mailed statement.
When the contracts expired, Lance McDaniel didn’t do any more painting for the authority, he said.
“The HUD investigators now say in hindsight the board should have said, ‘terminate the contracts,’ ” Jarrard said. “We look forward to the day when a citizen jury will tell HUD and its investigators to leave these good folks alone.”
Federal court records didn’t list an attorney assigned to represent Williams as of Tuesday afternoon. McDaniel began work as executive director of the housing authority Oct. 1, 2009.
To contact writer Amy Leigh Womack, call 744-4398.
