LEESBURG, Va. — The leader of an anti-gay hate group will not face criminal charges after a special grand jury probe into allegations that he misused his county office to raise political funds.
Loudoun County, Va., Supervisor Eugene Delgaudio (R-Sterling, Va.), who has gained national notoriety for his anti-gay crusade via his organization, Public Advocate of The United States, was accused of using his Loudoun County office and other county resources for political fundraising.
“The special grand jury’s report, while not pinpointing criminal activity by Delgaudio, highlights testimony of a potentially harsh working environment in the Sterling supervisor’s office, a lack of focus on constituent services and a likely, but not blatant, misuse of county resources.”
“At the conclusion of the investigation [Arlington Commonwealth’s Attorney Theo Stamos, whose office was in charge of the investigation] informed the jury that she would not ask the jury to consider any indictments,” a summary of the report states.
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“As such, the jury never deliberated to consider whether it would indict Supervisor Delgaudio, the original focus of the investigation, or any other individual,” reported the Loudon Times-Mirror.
Virginia law considers the misuse of public assets to be a crime only when committed by full-time state employees. County Supervisors are considered part-time employees.
The special grand jury did make six recommendations, the first of which is “that the General Assembly amend the state code to make clear that anyone who works for or is elected to any government body is subject to the misuse of public assets statute.”
Delgaudio is also the target of an ongoing lawsuit in U. S. District Court in Denver over alleged copyright violations by Delgaudio and his Public Advocate group brought on behalf of a New Jersey same-sex couple and their photographer by the Southern Poverty Law Center.
The Southern Poverty Law Center has designated the organization as a hate group for its anti-gay activism.
