EMA embezzlement trial delayed until June

The trial for a former deputy director of Bedford County Emergency Management Agency accused of embezzlement has been moved ahead to the second week of June.

A scheduling conflict with a drug-related trial means that the charges against Eugene Nichols, who was named in a 70-count indictment last November, will be heard on June 8 and 9.

Circuit Court Judge Robert Crigler will preside over the trial.

Nichols, 44, is accused of allegedly diverting a total of $117,000 in funds from the county's Emergency Management Agency to a personal account over a period of several years, according to state officials.

The 70 counts against Nichols include one count of theft over $60,000; 38 counts of theft from $1,000 to $10,000; two counts of theft between $500 and $1,000; two counts of theft under $500; one count of theft between $10,000 and $60,000; and 26 counts of forgery.

The investigation was conducted by the state comptroller's office, and the TBI assisted with the investigation.

The matter was brought to the comptroller's office's attention in last August by Bedford County Finance Director Robert Daniel, according to Roxanna Pierce, communications officer with the state comptroller's office.

Once the comptroller's office made its findings, the evidence was handed over to District Attorney Chuck Crawford, Pierce said. The 70-count indictment was handed down by a Bedford County grand jury last November.

Pierce stated at the time that financial records dating from July 1, 2003, until July 30, 2007, had been examined and that the investigation is still ongoing.

Nichols is free on $75,000 bond and is being represented by attorney Richard Dugger.