Former Richmond city employee charged with misusing public assets
A former Richmond city employee has been charged with grand larceny and misusing public assets worth more than $1,000 last year, but officials aren’t providing any details about what happened.
A March 3 indictment by a Richmond grand jury states John Patrick LaBossiere “did unlawfully, feloniously, and without lawful authorization, use or permit to be used public assets for personal purposes unrelated to the duties of the accused, or any other legitimate government interest.”
A warrant was also issued for the arrest of LaBossiere, a Spotsylvania resident who is listed in the state’s online court database as a fugitive. The offenses are alleged to have occurred between June 18 and Oct. 30.
A city spokesperson confirmed that LaBossiere previously worked for the Department of Public Utilities as a power line specialist supervisor. His last day of work was Nov. 23.
Officials aren’t providing any additional information. Asked for further details on what prosecutors allege LaBossiere did, Richmond Commonwealth’s Attorney Colette McEachin said in an email that “to avoid ethical conflicts and tainting subsequent court proceedings, my office doesn’t provide ‘narrative details’ or comment on pending criminal cases.”
“As you know, information about indictments, including the defendant’s name and charges, is available to the public on the website,” she said in a followup email. “We don’t try cases in the media, so any facts about a specific case would be presented in open court.”
It is not uncommon for commonwealth’s attorneys, who act as the chief prosecutors for localities in Virginia and are elected, to provide information to the public about cases that fall under their jurisdiction.
The Richmond Office of the Inspector General, which the indictment indicates was involved in investigating the matter, also declined to provide any details.
“This is still an active investigation and I am not able to share any information at this time,” said Deputy Inspector General Craig Johnson in an email.
LaBossiere did not respond to phone calls to two numbers associated with him. One number was disconnected, while the other number had a message saying his voicemail was full.
