AG's Office Boyle-Skene Investigation Ongoing

By David Johnson
The CNL

Approximately 100 customers of the Boyle-Skene Water Association filled the auditorium of the Mississippi State Agricultural Extension Service building Tuesday night for the much-maligned entity's annual meeting.

The gathering, which lasted a total of 23 minutes, fell short on widely expected controversy.

The Boyle-Skene Water Association is currently under investigation by the FBI, the United States Justice Department and the Mississippi Attorney General's Office for a bevy of allegations, ranging from civil rights violations to the theft of materials and federal funds.

While the auditorium was pulsing with tension and the occasional off-colored remark could be heard from the audience, verbal sparring was held to a minimum. The two board members whose seats were up, Thomas Worbington and William Thomas Jr., were re-elected unanimously without opposition.

Former board member G.R. Harden, broke the silence, just before the meeting was adjourned.

"When Mike took over this thing, it was through a hostile takeover," Harden said, standing from his seat in the audience. "I want us to dismiss the whole board and Mike (Tarver) and re-vote on a new board."

The water association board sat quietly as Harden spoke.

Water association manager Mike Tarver cut Harden off, telling him the board was not interested in hearing his comments. A motion was quickly approved to adjourn the meeting, and a muffled stir fell over the room as people made their way toward the exits.

Earlier in the evening, Harden distributed handouts to those in attendance. The handouts were critical of Tarver.

In the handout, Harden again accused Tarver of a hostile takeover of the association. He also alleged that Tarver appointed every member of the association's board of directors.

The handout then went on to state that Tarver had threatened former water system operator Bobby Stanford and wife Sylvia Stanford, and those "threats" were proven false by state attorney general office investigator Tony Green. The handout also states that Green said Tarver's actions were much worse than anything done by the Stanfords.

The Cleveland News Leader contacted the State Attorney General's Office following the meeting in an effort to verify the claims made by Harden in the handout. The Attorney General's Office asked for and was supplied a copy of the handout by The CNL. While investigator Green did not return the newspaper's calls, Jane Schafer, public relations director for the AG's office, did.

"Of course, it is our policy to neither confirm nor deny our investigations," Schafer said Thursday. "Thus, I wouldn't be able to confirm nor deny the accuracy of any statements someone has attributed to one of our investigators."

Other highly-placed sources, however, did confirm that the investigation into the Boyle Skene Water Association by the Attorney General's Office is ongoing and not complete.