Remaining Charges Dismissed in Election Mailer Scandal

WHEELING -- All remaining charges in the criminal case involving controversial, anonymous mailers sent to the public ahead of Wheeling's 2024 municipal election have been dismissed.

Anand Arvind Patel, 42, of Wheeling, had been scheduled for a jury trial later this month on two counts of failure to include public notice for communication by independent expenditure. However, Special Prosecutor Timothy Haught, Wetzel County prosecutor, filed a motion late last week to dismiss the remaining counts with prejudice without conceding the merits of Patel's arguments concerning the First Amendment.

Ohio County Magistrate Kevin Stryker granted the state's motion to dismiss in an order filed Monday.

"The state has determined it is not in the interest of judicial economy to proceed with a jury trial on this matter given the nature of the two remaining charges, the inconvenience to the docket of the court, the jurors, the cost of prosecution and the fact that two witnesses in this case reside out of state," Haught said in his motion to dismiss. "The state has broad discretion in deciding which cases to pursue and take to jury trial and which cases to dismiss; and the special prosecutor respectfully requests the court give deference to the decision of the special prosecutor to nolle the remaining counts in this case at this time."

Patel initially was charged with 22 misdemeanor counts, including two counts of false statements regarding a candidate, nine counts of publishing or circulating anonymous items supporting or aiding the defeat of a clearly identified candidate in an election, nine counts of failure to report independent expenditures of more than $500 and two counts of failure to include public notice for communication by independent expenditure.

The charges followed a lengthy investigation into anonymous negative campaign mailers that appeared in residents' mailboxes days before Wheeling's May 2024 municipal election, when contested races for city council seats, including a six-way mayoral race, were underway.

Investigators from the West Virginia Secretary of State's Office became involved in the case and eventually identified Patel as the source of the mailers.

During previous pretrial hearings, all but two of the charges had been dismissed. Over the past year, the parties had indicated that a resolution to the case was likely to be presented to the court. However, no agreement was reached and the case appeared headed for a jury trial later this month.

Patel pleaded not guilty to all charges, remained free on bond throughout the proceedings and represented himself during court hearings. He indicated this week that he was preparing to argue his case before a jury.

"As of last week, the case was proceeding toward trial," Patel said Wednesday. "I asked for discovery, received it, and then identified the witnesses and evidence I intended to put before a jury. I also asked that the proceedings be filmed because this case involved political speech and the words and actions of people who hold, have held, or seek the public's trust."

Patel said motions he filed last month did not appear on the public docket until recently, although they now carry a July 27 filing date.

"On Aug. 14, the case moved to dismissal," Patel said. "By Aug. 17, those missing July 27 entries appeared publicly, and as of yesterday, I still had not received my file-stamped copies."

With the charges dismissed, arguments that both sides had prepared will go unheard.

"The case is over," Patel said. "My rights remain intact. And I intend to continue to exercise them."

Had Patel been convicted of the remaining charges, the court could have imposed some jail time. However, earlier this year, when a plea deal was being explored, Haught said he likely would seek fines if a conviction were handed down.

More than 12,500 of the pre-election mailers were distributed throughout the Wheeling area via U.S. mail during the first week of May 2024. Most were considered negative campaign attack ads focusing on candidates in the city's council and mayoral races.

None of the large, postcard-style mailers included the "paid for" disclaimer required on campaign mailers. The material did include a post office box number belonging to a Wheeling resident who had nothing to do with the campaign mailers.

Under West Virginia law regarding political disclaimers, a disclaimer notice must contain the full name of the individual, group, political committee, corporation or labor organization that paid for the communication, along with any abbreviated name it uses to identify itself.

The disclaimer also must provide the payor's permanent street address, telephone number or website address and state that the communication was not authorized by any candidate or candidate's committee.

The sudden appearance of the mud-slinging campaign mailers in May 2024 took many people in the community by surprise, including candidates in the city council races and the six-person mayoral race. All of the candidates named in the mailers ran considerably clean campaigns. They condemned the attack ads and denied any knowledge of their source.

An investigation into the source of the mailers eventually led to Patel being charged. According to court filings, Patel spent more than $14,000 with a Florida printing company to produce the mailers.

Throughout the court proceedings, Patel argued that charges related to political opinion and protected speech raised constitutional concerns.

Prior to the election mailer case, Patel had friction with city leaders who, in spring 2022, took action to declare the Wheeling Inn on Main Street downtown -- a hotel he managed -- a public nuisance. The Wheeling Inn, which sat adjacent to the historic Wheeling Suspension Bridge, subsequently was acquired by the Wheeling Convention and Visitors Bureau for $1.7 million and razed. The property now is being redeveloped into the multimillion-dollar Wheeling Gateway Center.