Buncombe County investigation: Frost requests trial postponement

ASHEVILLE - A former Buncombe County commissioner accused of using taxpayer funds to support various equestrian enterprises has requested that her December trial date be postponed.

Ellen Frost, a Black Mountain Democrat, served as a Buncombe County commissioner from 2013 to 2018. She was indicted in July for fraud and conspiracy charges involving county funding for the Tryon International Equestrian Center. She pleaded not guilty later that month and requested a jury trial.

Frost's attorney, Tony Scheer, of Charlotte, asked in a Nov. 6 court filing that her Dec. 2 court date be pushed back to give him more time to go through the discovery items that have been provided to him by federal prosecutors.

That includes 65,000 pages of documents, additional spreadsheets and bank records, 80,000 emails from Frost's county account and details of interviews conducted by prosecutors that include four with corrupt former Buncombe County manager Wanda Greene, according to court filings. 

Scheer also said he recently received a copy of Greene's email history from the county.

More on Buncombe County corruption:

►A timeline of the Buncombe County corruption investigation

►In new court filings, Frost accused of quietly giving $20K in county funds to Owen High

►'Horrific abuse of office': Wanda Greene gets 7 years for wide-ranging corruption

Greene is named as Frost's co-conspirator in court filings but was not charged with additional offenses. The longtime Buncombe County manager is serving seven years at a federal medical prison in Texas, FMC Carswell, for corruption charges.

After being thrice indicted Greene reached a plea deal with prosecutors in which she agreed to assist in federal investigations.

Scheer said in the recent court filing that Greene gave four separate interviews over an 18-month period, the last of which occurred in March 2019. In that interview, she answered questions about Buncombe County's sponsorship at the Tryon International Equestrian Center, he said.

U.S. District Judge Robert Conrad has already granted one continuance in Frost's case, agreeing to push back an Oct. 7 docket call to December. Both requests for postponement were submitted jointly by Scheer and federal prosecutors.

In this week's filing, they requested a new court date no earlier than February 2020.

Federal investigation is ongoing

Frost is the sixth person to have been indicted since federal officials launched an investigation into Buncombe corruption more than two years ago. She is the only one who has held elected office. The U.S. Attorney's Office said the investigation into county corruption is ongoing.

An 11-count grand jury indictment on July 16 charged Frost with conspiracy, federal program fraud and mail fraud. The most serious charges against her carry a maximum prison term of 20 years and a $250,000 fine.

Prosecutors say Frost, 64, misapplied Buncombe economic development incentive funds to support various equestrian enterprises. A horse owner, Frost had "a personal interest in supporting equestrian venues" such as the Tryon center and its Florida affiliate, the Palm Beach International Equestrian Center, the indictment alleged.

Prosecutors also cited out-of-state trips that Frost and Greene took, as well as several dinners funded by the county for area business leaders and Mark Bellissimo, owner of the equestrian centers.

The indictment came nearly a year and half after a Citizen Times investigation found Frost was involved in Greene's questionable use of taxpayer funds for sponsorships and advertisements at Tryon International Equestrian Center. 

Scheer said in July that Frost had no monetary gain from the nearly $600,000 spent on equestrian funding in which "one-woman crime wave" Greene was involved. He said they plan to fight the case.

Greene and the other indicted Buncombe County officials were sentenced Aug. 28 after pleading guilty to corruption charges. All five have reported to federal prison. 

Jon Creighton, who served as Buncombe's assistant county manager and planning director for more than three decades and former county Business Intelligence Manager Michael Greene — Wanda Greene's son — are being held at USP McCreary, Kentucky, according to the federal Bureau of Prisons website.

Mandy Stone, a longtime employee who briefly served as county manager, is being held at a minimum-security camp in Alderson, West Virginia. 

Joe Wiseman, a Georgia engineer, also received a prison sentence for his role in a yearslong kickback scheme in which he bribed Wanda Greene, Stone and Creighton with vacations, spa treatment, sporting events and other gifts in exchange for contracts.

Wiseman has yet to report to a facility, according to an Nov. 7 online search of federal inmates. Federal prison experts told the Citizen Times it takes an average of four to six weeks after sentencing for inmates to report for prison.