Gunter: Moss’s attorney quits; unsure on return of town property
Published 11:45 pm Tuesday, October 7, 2014
River Falls residents learned Tuesday night that the man who had town property illegally transferred to him in 2008 is now without legal counsel.
At last night’s council meeting, a concerned resident asked if there had been any headway made on the return of the former city hall property.
Mayor Patricia Gunter told the crowd gathered that Richard Moss’s attorney “came off the case” and is no longer representing him.
“There is probably not anything we can do,” she said. “(Moss is) not here. There is no one for our attorney to work with.”
In August, Gunter reported the town was still awaiting attorneys to work things out and for Moss to go to trial.
In 2012, Moss was indicted for four counts of theft related to missing funds in River Falls, and he had reached out to the town promising to return the property.
The illegal transfer of the Sunnyside Street property was uncovered by the Star-News, and is at the heart of a criminal investigation that led to the arrests of Moss and former mayor, Mary Hixon.
Hixon, who was in her 90s, recently passed away.
She pleaded guilty in October 2012 to the theft of more than $200,000 in town funds over three years, which included $90,000 in salaries paid to three people who never worked for the town, including Moss.
Hixon was sentenced to probation and ordered to pay restitution to River Falls.
At Tuesday’s meeting, a citizen asked Gunter how Hixon’s death would affect the town’s repayment.
“The court ordered a lien would be placed for the town against her estate,” Gunter said. “We do not know if there are any other liens against her estate.”
Moss, who also operated a business, called Conecuh Feed and Seed on the former town hall property, was indicted on multiple theft charges and is currently free on a $135,000 bond.