An Ethics Commission hearing against a former Division of Natural Resources supervisor accused of using his public office for private gain turned into something of a "she said-she said" debate Monday.
Ulrika Browning testified that then-DNR wildlife biologist Eugene Thorn recruited her in late 2012 to bid on the state contract to operate the gift shop, snack bar and admissions booth at the West Virginia Wildlife Center in French Creek. Browning she said she agreed only if Thorn's wife, Sandra, would be her partner in the business. The Thorns also provided a $5,000 loan for Browning's surety bond with the DNR.
Browning said she and Sandra Thorn agreed to split the profits 50-50, but said that when the shop brought in nominal revenue initially, Thorn demanded to be paid as an employee.
"I just gave her $100 a day cash," Browning testified. "Not knowing what else to do, I paid her."
Browning said she felt compelled to pay Thorn that much since she considered Eugene Thorn, manager of the Wildlife Center, to be her boss.
"He was my superior officer. He was my boss," Browning said.
Browning testified that she had numerous conversations with the Thorns in 2012 before she bid for the gift shop concessionaire contract, including discussions that she would only take on the contract if Sandra Thorn would be her partner.
"We figured it would be 50-50. She'd do 50 percent of the work and get 50 percent of the pay," Browning said.
However, Sandra Thorn later testified that she barely knew Browning, having talked to her "all of two times" at craft shows where Browning, an Upshur County artisan, had display booths.
Sandra Thorn said there was no partnership agreement, and that she did not consider herself to be an employee at the gift shop, but said she did agree to help out at the shop for a few months after Browning took over operations in the spring of 2013.
"I did offer my assistance, yes," she said, saying Browning asked for her help getting the shop up and running.
Sandra Thorn testified she did write a check for $5,000 for Browning's surety bond from a joint checking account with her husband, adding, "I always thought that was a loan. She was told it was a loan."
Thorn did not explain why she lent a large amount of money to a near-stranger.
Both Browning and Sandra Thorn testified they had a "falling out" that summer, at which time Browning said she ended the partnership, and Thorn said she quit helping out at the shop.
Soon after, Browning said Eugene Thorn demanded that she immediately repay the $5,000 loan at 18 percent interest, through $500 a week payments.
"Mr. Thorn just handed me the (repayment schedule) paper, and told me to pay it," said Browning, who said she always planned to repay the loan, but did not anticipate such high interest. "It was a total surprise to me."
Browning said she felt compelled to repay the loan with interest, again saying she considered Thorn to essentially be her employer.
Browning ultimately paid the Thorns $5,630, according to testimony.
In closing arguments to hearing examiner Jennifer Taylor, Ethics Commission general counsel Kim Weber cited the two sides' widely different accounts of what happened, but said Browning has no reason to make up the allegations.
"She'd have nothing to gain by making up such a crazy story," Weber said. "Of course, the Thorns have every reason to deny the accusations made against them."
Thorn's attorney, John Tinney of Charleston, argued that the Ethics Commission had failed to make its case against Thorn.
Tinney said Thorn did not have authority to award or revoke the gift shop concessionaire contract, and was but one member of a panel of three DNR supervisors who reviewed Browning's bid and unanimously recommended she be awarded the contract. Additionally, Tinney noted that Browning was the only bidder for the contract.
"She was, in fact, the default bidder," Tinney said. "Therefore, Mr. Thorn could not influence the awarding of the contract."
Tinney noted that despite the allegations of misconduct, Browning has renewed her contract with the DNR annually in 2014, 2015, and this year.
Tinney also argued there is a "complete paucity" of evidence in the case - with no written agreement between Browning and Thorn to operate the gift shop as a partnership, and no documentation of the $100 a day payments to Thorn, which Browning testified were paid in cash at the end of each day.
Billie Jo Donovan, an hourly employee at the gift shop, testified that she saw Browning pay Thorn in cash on one occasion.
Eugene Thorn did not testify at the hearing, but a recording of his testimony to the commission's Probable Cause Review Board was entered into evidence.
Both sides have 15 days to submit recommended findings of fact to Taylor, who will then have 45 days to submit her recommended ruling to the full Ethics Commission.
If the commission rules that he violated the Ethics Act, Thorn, who has since retired from the DNR, could face fines of up to $15,000, a public reprimand, and could be ordered to make restitution to Browning and to reimburse the commission for the costs of the investigation and prosecution.
Reach Phil Kabler at philk@wvgazettemail.com, 304 348-1220, or follow @PhilKabler on Twitter.