The Huntsville Item, Huntsville, TX

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September 30, 2009

Former Chamber president magistrated for four felony indictments

By Jay Ermis



Former Huntsville-Walker County Chamber of Commerce president and CEO Dee Everett was magistrated Monday on four second-degree felony indictments.

Everett was magistrated by Walker County Precinct 1 Justice of the Peace Janie Farris and released on $7,500 personal recognizance bond on each of the four charges.

A holdover Walker County grand jury from the January term returned the indictments Friday.

The four indictments were signed by D.V. McKaskle, foreperson of the jury.

Everett’s case has been assigned to State District Judge Ken Keeling’s 278th Judicial District Court.

The four indictments charge Everett with securing execution of document by deception, false statement to obtain property or credit, theft of $100,000 to $200,000 and misapplication of fiduciary property between $100,000 and $200,00.

In addition, Everett was one of four parties named in a lawsuit filed by the City of Huntsville on Sept. 17 along with the Chamber, former Chamber board chairman Stephen Everett and current board chairman Todd Armstrong.

The 14-page petition — also filed in Keeling’s 278th District Court — is based on a compliance and organizational assessment of the use of the Hotel Occupancy Tax funds and documents supplied by the Chamber.

The city’s causes of action in the lawsuit includes:

• The Chamber’s breach of contract by expending approximately in excess of $174,000 for non-authorized purposes.

• Breach of fiduciary duty where the Chamber through its officers and directors had a statutorily imposed and contractually fiduciary duty to use the hotel tax funds for authorized purposes and the breach by the Chamber caused the loss of public funds and benefitted the Chamber officer and members.

• Conversion — Defendant Dee Everett assumed and exercised dominion as president and secretary of the Chamber of hotel tax funds for personal use and that her acts manifested a clear repudiation of the city’s rights.

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