Greene, Stone, Creighton will be arraigned Monday. Here's what to know.

Jennifer Bowman | The Citizen-Times

Show Caption Hide Caption The investigation of Wanda Greene A look at the federal investigation of former Buncombe County Manager Wanda Greene.

ASHEVILLE — Three ex-Buncombe County officials who haven't worked together for more than a year are expected to find themselves in the same room again. This time, they'll be arraigned on charges that allege a yearslong kickback scheme with a longtime contractor.

Wanda Greene, Mandy Stone and Jon Creighton, at one point among the county's highest-ranking administrators, are scheduled to appear in federal court for their arraignments Monday morning, about two weeks after a federal grand jury handed up a 32-count indictment.

Buncombe County has since announced it will sue the former managers.

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Feds: Wanda Greene, assistant managers traveled world under contractor kickback scheme

What the prosecutors allege

Greene and her former assistant managers are accused of accepting out-of-state trips, expensive meals, baseball game tickets and luxury spa visits in exchange for government contracts.

Prosecutors cite at least 20 trips — from Key West, Florida, to Budapest, Hungary — during which the contractor and the managers "rendezvoused." The contractor, who was not named in the indictment but whose identity was confirmed by the county as Joe Wiseman Jr., was associated with three companies that in total have received more than $15 million in work from Buncombe.

The indictment alleges that though they were kickbacks, Buncombe taxpayers ultimately footed the bill because Wiseman included the costs in invoices for county projects. Greene, Creighton and Stone never took time off for the trips, prosecutors said, and sold their unused paid leave back to the county for additional compensation.

Stone, who took over as county manager after Greene, abruptly announced she would retire in June, using annual leave to cover her time until her official departure date. Commissioners were tight-lipped about the reasons behind her retirement.

Creighton retired in December. His attorney, Chris Fialko of Charlotte, said his client has been fully cooperating with federal investigators since January.

The three staffers worked a combined 95 years for Buncombe government. They were each charged with 29 counts of wire fraud; one count of conspiracy to defraud the federal government; one count of receipt of bribes and kickbacks; and one count of federal program fraud.

Greene additionally was charged with six counts of tax fraud in connection to a life insurance scheme and embezzlement alleged by prosecutors in previous indictments.

About contractor Joe Wiseman Jr.

Wiseman has not been charged. Prosecutors said in the indictment that giving gifts or favors to public officials tasked with contract decisions is illegal.

The professional engineer has been tied to three companies: Camp Dresser & McKee, later named CDM Smith; Petra Engineering Inc.; and his own, Environmental Infrastructure Consulting.

Work ranged from the county landfill, A-B Technical Community College construction, the courthouse and Buncombe's new Health and Human Services building, among others.

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Shortly after charges were announced, the Citizen Times found business records linking Wiseman to companies mentioned in the indictment. Buncombe records also showed he was still working with the county.

Commissioners later confirmed Wiseman's identity and announced their plans to review all county contracts in which he's involved.

Records obtained through a public records request show the county gave Wiseman work just four days before the indictment. He had more than a half-million dollars in active contracts.

Wiseman has not returned calls and emailed requests for comment.

How the county has responded

Commissioners voted during a special meeting Tuesday to end any active contracts with Wiseman and associated entities. They also ended ongoing negotiations with CDM Smith for a contract related to the landfill's bioreactor, despite Wiseman no longer working for the Boston-based national firm.

The county also will sue Wiseman and the former managers, the second lawsuit it will have filed since the investigation began.

Interim Manager George Wood said officials will review "every facet" of Buncombe's purchasing system.

He said he doesn't believe there were any problems with the quality of Wiseman's work. The county has not said if or how officials bypassed safeguards in order to give him contracts.

In her own statement released the day after the indictment, Commissioner Jasmine Beach-Ferrara called for a forensic audit of the county and said there was a culture of corruption. The county's constituents are "owed answers and accountability," she said.

What's next for the investigation

The U.S. Attorney's Office said its corruption investigation is ongoing, including court action on previous indictments against Greene. One indictment also charged her son, former county employee Michael Greene.

The former county manager in total faces 91 counts of wire fraud, 14 counts of federal program fraud, two counts of conspiracy to defraud the federal government; three counts of money laundering; six counts of filing a false tax return; and one count of receipt of bribes and kickbacks.

Wanda Greene will be appear in court on the tax fraud charges immediately after her initial appearance Monday.

Federal prosecutors say Greene spent more than $200,000 on county credit cards for personal purchases, including retail gift cards, home decor and phone bills. She's also accused of illegally spending more than $2.3 million on life insurance policies for herself and others.

Greene pleaded not guilty to the charges.

Under a deal with the federal government, Michael Greene pleaded not guilty to conspiracy to defraud the federal government. He's agreed to pay $11,000 and to cooperate with the investigation but will not be required to testify in any trial against his mother.

Michael Greene will be sentenced at a later date.