A development project in southeast Missouri that is getting $2 million in state aid is led by a man who is on probation after pleading guilty to passing more than $90,000 in bad checks, according to court records obtained by The Associated Press.
Gov. Jay Nixon recently flew to Cape Girardeau to tout tax credits and grant funding for the parent company of Hometown Innovation Team, which plans to manage a dental, vision and chiropractic cooperative. Court records show that the president and CEO of Hometown Innovation Team, Weaver Dickerson, pleaded guilty three years ago to five felony counts of passing bad checks.
Dickerson, 34, confirmed Friday to the AP that he is on probation for passing bad checks but declined to comment further about the cases. His birth date matches those listed on state court records from the bad check cases.
Dickerson said his personal history was not relevant to a project that he said would bring well-paying jobs, generate revenue for local governments and help people get health care. He noted that the company must make its investment before receiving any state tax breaks.
"I think the mistakes of any person don't outweigh the good the project will do," Dickerson said. He added: "It's an awesome project. It will make a huge difference for the people who didn't have access to these forms of care."
The project is getting $1.3 million from a state tax credit program to hire 135 new workers and $750,000 in community development block grant funding for equipment and developing an employee training program, state officials said.
Nixon spokesman Sam Murphey said Friday that the governor's office was unaware of Dickerson's criminal probation before Nixon traveled to Cape Girardeau last week for the news conference with Dickerson and other local officials to announce the state aid. At the time, Nixon, a Democrat, described the project as "wonderful news for Cape Girardeau's downtown and the overall economy of this region."
"As with any economic-development project, no incentives have been released - or will be released - for this project unless and until the business can demonstrate that it is in compliance with all state laws and regulations," Murphey said Friday.
Republican Lt. Gov. Peter Kinder told the AP that Nixon's administration should have known that Dickerson was on probation. Kinder, who is expected to challenge Nixon in 2012, said it demonstrates a breakdown in due diligence.
Kinder, who is from Cape Girardeau, said that if he were in charge, "I would Google certain individuals and do necessary legal background checks on them before I put the prestige of the state of Missouri behind a deal."
On the state grant application, companies are required to certify that no one with an ownership interest has committed a felony, is under indictment for a felony or is on parole or probation. Dickerson, who signed that portion of the application for the company, told the AP on Friday that he does not own the company.
The Cape Girardeau project is one of about two dozen that Nixon has highlighted this year as he attempts to show that businesses are locating and expanding in Missouri - with the help of state incentives - even though the unemployment rate has remained above 9 percent for more than a year and a half. On Friday, Nixon held news conferences announcing business expansions in St. Louis and Cuba, Mo.
The court records obtained by the AP show that in March 2007, Dickerson's sentence was suspended and he was placed on five years of unsupervised probation after pleading guilty to writing bad checks worth $73,204. In May 2007, he pleaded guilty to two other counts of passing $18,717 in bad checks. His sentence was suspended, and he was placed on supervised probation for five years.
Stoddard County prosecutors, in court records, say that Dickerson wrote three checks in November 2006 to the Delta Growers Association from an account at Paducah Bank. Authorities say that Dickerson knew the checks would not be paid. Then, prosecutors say that Dickerson wrote two checks to Midland Davis in March 2007 that he also knew would not be paid.
The state Department of Corrections said its records show Dickerson's probation ends in 2012.
Cape Girardeau was a sponsor for Hometown Innovation Team's application to get state grant funding for the project. The city's mayor, Harry Rediger, said Friday that officials knew that Dickerson was on probation and are not concerned. He said the new development would fill some vacant buildings in the city's downtown near the Mississippi River.
"The entity itself and the financial package that they have apparently put together . . . is a project that looks good for our city," Rediger said.
The $10 million development calls for 90,000 square feet of renovations in three buildings. Project organizers said that construction work is to begin in several weeks and that the clinic is scheduled to open June 16.