yardkinripple.com | 7/30/08 | Andy Matthews
PILOT MOUNTAIN — A former superintendent of Pilot Mountain State Park is scheduled to appear in court next week on allegations that he embezzled more than $70,000.
Barry Andrew Whitaker, 49, of King, is facing 14 felony counts of embezzlement of state property and three felony counts of obtaining property by false pretenses.
According to arrest warrants and criminal indictments filed in the Surry County Clerk of Court's Office, the embezzlement charges range from a $625 hay spear to more than $20,000 that was supposed to pay for the operation of the park's wastewater treatment plant. Altogether, the felony charges total $73,483.
Whitaker, who became the park superintendent in 1993, could not be reached for comment Tuesday. Attempts to reach his attorney, David Freeman, were also unsuccessful.
Whitaker, who began work at the park as a ranger, was dismissed last December because of irregularities in contract agreements and state procurements, state officials said at the time.
Matt Windsor succeeded Whitaker in February. Whitaker was arrested the following month and released from custody after posting a $5,000 secured bond. A grand jury indicted Whitaker in June on the felony charges. He is scheduled to appear Tuesday in Surry County Superior Court.
According to court documents, most of the alleged wrongdoings occurred between 2005 and 2007.
However, the felony embezzlement charge involving the park's wastewater plant, which totaled $20,164.50, extends from July 2001 to July 2007.
Arrest warrants also allege that Whitaker diverted $7,620.83 from the park's vending machines over a twoyear period and embezzled $12,682 worth of lime. The three felony obtaining property by false pretense charges involve $7,600.46 of flooring purchased at Burchette and Burchette Flooring Inc., $3,722.05 in kitchen appliances from Boles Hardware Inc., and $15,000 in cabinets.
The remaining embezzlement charges involve a variety of park equipment such as $1,252.31 in tractor tires, a $575 tractor bucket, a $399 tent and a $350 tractor quick connect, court documents allege.
Pilot Mountain State Park, which celebrated its 40th anniversary last week, encompasses 3,651 acres. The Yadkin River section of the park, which was added in 1970, includes 15-acre and 40-acre islands and approximately 300 acres in Yadkin County in the Shoals community.
