Wednesday, March 06, 2013 11:05 PM

Democratic treasurer faces charge

Garner police issue warrant
By Janet Conner-Knox | Times Staff Writer

An arrest warrant for the Wilson County Democratic Partys treasurer, Felicia Atkinson, has been issued by Garner police. The warrant states Atkinson is accused of financial card fraud and obtaining property, according to Garner Police. The charge is a misdemeanor and Garner police officials said Wilson County Sheriffs office will execute the warrant. The alleged incident took place last September, and Wilson Democratic chairman, Asa A. Gregory said he is the person who discovered the missing money. It is with much pain and sadness that it was discovered by my internal investigation that our county party treasurer, Ms. Felicia Atkinson, a certified public accountant, engaged in a criminal offense with our partys bank account, Gregory said in a statement. Ms. Atkinson used our partys debit card, issued by Cornerstone Bank, to purchase electronic equipment from a Staples store located in Garner. When reached for comment, Atkinson declined, citing her attorneys advice. No one from the Wilson Democratic Party was aware of the purchase, including the executive committee, Gregory said. Gregory and Atkinson are the only two people authorized to use the debit card, and when he saw the purchase he asked Atkinson about it, he said. She freely admitted to me in October that she had inadvertently used the wrong debit card at the Staples store in Garner in September to purchase electronic equipment for herself, not for the Wilson County Democratic party. She claimed to me that she intended to use her own personal financial card, Gregory said. Gregory said took Atkinsons word that is was just a mistake, and asked her to replace the money back in October, he said.

After the November elections, Gregory said he examined the bank statement once again, and was disappointed to realize the money had not been replaced as Atkinson promised. He said he asked her again to replace the money. As of Jan. 1 of this new year, she had failed to repay the funds that I was led to believe she had used for her own benefit, Gregory said. Not wanting to have another scandal regarding our partys funds, I sought legal advice from our partys attorney. Their advice was not to inform other party officers or members, rather it was to notify law enforcement and report it as a crime, which I did. Gregory first went to the Wilson Police Department. They referred him to Garner police since the incident occurred in Garner. Gregory said he fully cooperated with Garners investigation, and Garner police issued a warrant for Atkinsons arrest. Gregory said he is committed to transparency and looks forward to the conclusion of the incident. He quickly issued a statement when asked about the issue this week.

OTHER ISSUES The Times previously reported about a letter from the State Board of Elections, dated Dec. 14, 2012, to the treasurer of the Wilson County Democratic Party, Atkinson, stating that the local Democrats can no longer spend or collect money. The letter is the Notice of Termination of Active Status. According to the letter from Amy Strange, compliance specialist for the state board of elections, the Democratic committee was late filing necessary reports. Strange said she didnt send the letter to everyone in the party, just the treasurer on file, Atkinson. According to statutes, we only send the letters to the treasurer, Strange previously said. I have talked to Felicia Atkinson twice since November. I believe she is trying to file those overdue reports. Gregory previously said he was shocked at that news, which is unrelated to the warrant. The reason our status has been terminated to fund raise or spend money with the state board of elections is because the second and third and even the fourth report is late the fourth has since been filed, but we have been terminated, Gregory has said. Felicia Atkinson as treasurer is responsible to file those reports and she failed to do it. I have done my job.

FIRST ISSUE Atkinson was not treasurer when the Wilson Democratic partys account was drained and overdrawn by the former boyfriend of then-treasurer Barbara Dantonio. The Wilson County Democratic Party had said a local man, claiming to be doing work for Democratic candidates, emptied their bank account, leaving them overdrawn at the bank to the tune of $500, which included all fees assessed. Gregory said it was by accident that their treasurer, Barbara Dantonio, found out the political partys bank account was empty.

A man broke into our treasurers house and he stole a checkbook and he went to the Stantonsburg branch of BB&T bank and he cashed several checks 11 in total, some twice a day, Gregory said last year. Of course we didnt know about it. We didnt have online banking or checking and we didnt have a reason to check it. Gregory said the accused man, Daniel Ray Wilson, 53, had once lived in the house with Dantonio but was put out of the house and no longer had access. Wilson agreed to pay restitution. Gregory said this week he has worked hard to deal with everyone fairly to resolve these issues. The status of the warrant was unknown Wednesday night.