CHARLESTON, W. Va.– A settlement agreement involving Beckley Mayor Emmett Pugh will be up for consideration Thursday by the West Virginia Ethics Commission.
State Ethics Commission Executive Director Joan Parker will present the proposed settlement to the commission behind closed doors in executive session during which the commissioners will take a vote on the settlement.
If a majority of commissioners vote to approve it, then the terms of the settlement will go into effect. If it is not approved, a hearing on the alleged violations will begin next Tuesday.
In March 2012, Mayor Pugh was charged by the ethics commission after a review board found probable cause that he violated the Ethics Act nine times.
The charges include the use of public office for private gain, accepting improper gifts, use of a public office for his own private gain and private gain of another, and prohibited interest in public contracts.
The Probable Cause Review Board also alleges Pugh inappropriately used a vehicle leased under the Beckley Sanitary Board.
Pugh, who was first elected mayor in Beckley in 1988, has previously denied the charges.