Evening star., 1944-03-12
Virginia House
Asks Custer Of
Norfolk Judge
Carney and Police
Denounced in Vite
Inquiry Report
By the Associated Press.

RICHMOND. Mar. 11.-A repor,
bitterly attacking Judge A. B. Car.
ney Of the Norfolk County Circuit
Court and other county law enforce.
ment officials for failing in the
performance of their duties" was
presented to the House of DELEGATES
today by a special committee ap.
pointed to investigate moral ane
law enforcement conditions in tht
county.
In accepting the report, the HOUSE
adopted a resolution urging the re-
moval of Judge Carney by retire.
ment, or by impeachment, If neces-
sary.
There was no discussion of ths
resolution which was offered b,
Floor Leader G. Alvin Massenburs
after E. o. McCue, Charlottesville
chairman of the special investigat.
ing committee, had read to a packed
house a voluminous report of mora
and law enforcement condition.
which he termed "deplorable anc
inexcusable." Mr.. McCue was ap.
plauded as he finished.
Judge Is Blamed.
The committee blamed conditions
it charged existed in the county,
prostitution, gambling, improper
conduct in the Jail and illicit sale
OF liquor-directly on the Judge o1
the circuit court, the common.
wealth's attorney. the sheriff anc
his deputies and special police offi-
GERS of Norfolk County, with the
exception of seven named in the
report.
The report read by Mr.. McCue
said from testimony before the COM
mittee lit will appear that he Judge
Carney has on two occasions since
the early months of 1943 suffered
two cerebral hemorrhages which
have given rise to obvious manifes-
tations, of disability.
Asserting that under the Consti-
tuition the House had no authority
over any of the county officers ex-
cept the judge, the report said that
Judge Carney has failed in the
performance of his duties within
the limits of his jurisdiction to re-
move and or reprimand the Of
flcials and officers whose actions
were culpable and many of whom
were his direct appointees over a
long period of time"
Corruptness Charged.
The report was a scathing de-
nunciation of law enforcement as
ineffective, inefficient and almost
completely lacking in large part
OF Norfolk COUNTY" and it attributed
this and bad moral conditions to
the corruptness or inactivity of
certain OF the law enforcement Of
fleials OF this county and their
wtllful failure to perform their
duties"
THE officials referred to here !"
the report said, ARE Judge A. B.
Carney, Sheriff A. A. Wendell and
his deputies, Frank Wilson and Will
bur Fentress, all of the special DO
lice officers of the county with the
exception of j. S. Leonard, o. l..
Parkerson, j. A. Hodges, j. w.
Peoples, w. F. Powell, S. E. Still
and Harry Gardner.
by this statement the committee
does not mean that each of the
other police officers was necessarily
corrupt, but the evidence would indi-
cate that a number of them were
and that the others were inactive
and failed to do their duty In seeing
that law enforcement was properly
carried out in the territories as
signed to them"
Deal Laid to Judge.
1t summarized what it termed the
"derelictions" as follows:
Judge A. B. Carney:
MADE a deal with Judge C. w,
Coleman, his predecessor, for Judge
Coleman to resign and support him
Carney, as his successor, whereby
Carney agreed to pay Judge Coleman
sl00 per month for the rest of his
life, and after being appointed Judge
carried out this illegal agreement
and
Participated in deal whereby
Judge Coleman was able to get a
loan from a bank, secured by COL
lateral notes signed by various DO
lice officers, in the sum of $4,000
to compromise a pressing $4,000
obllgation which some evidence
shows was condition imposed by
the late Judge Coleman before he
would retire; and
Permitted the County of Norfolk
to illegally grant him an increase
in salary through a subterfuge, and
Confirmed by his conduct a gen.
orally accepted belief in Norfolk
County that one certain LAWYER.
namely: Thomas E. Gilman I.
had such influence over him. the
Judge, that it made it necessary
to employ this lawyer if one de-
sired to be treated lightly when
tried by Judge Carney
Appointment Hit.
Appointed and reappointed police
officers of Norfolk County who were
generally known to be unqualified
and to have some illegal connection
with the substantial law breakers of
the county, and appointed and re-
appointed officers who are known
to have an interest in illegal opera
tions in the county and to have
accepted hush money from known
violators of the law; and
Knowing that conditions were
bad actually wired the Governor of
Virginia that The conditions in
Norfolk County are reasonably good
and police force is doing good
job
Sheriff A. A. Wendell:
HAS wilfully neglected to per.
form his duties by keeping on hi.
staff Frank Wilson, an incompetent
noncooperative Official and who the
evidence in this investigation dis.
closes is generally known to have
some illegal connection with law.
breakers in the county of Norfolk
and who was responsible for the jai
and allowed it to get into such con.
dition that it had to be closed =
Police officers of the county, with
the possible execution of those mon,