Charleston Attorney Mike Clifford is charging that Nitro Treasurer                                   and Office Manager                                Tifney Terry paid                                      herself $20,000 in                                      overtime in May.

"We have located                                   payroll records where                               Tifney paid herself a                                gross in excess of                                 $20,000 and a net in                                    the $12000 range in                                    May of 2007, within 45                                 days after the filing of                                  the action to have her                          removed from office                                     and asking that she                                 have to repay all                                   monies received during the period of time she illegally held the position of Treasurer," says Clifford. "I have requested the Kanawha County Sheriff to conduct an investigation."

Terry says the money was earned since 2006 for overtime accumulated while working on legitimate Nitro projects. She has provided PutnamLIVE.com with detailed time sheets as well as a "comp-time" summary signed by Nitro Mayor Rusty Casto. PutnamLIVE.com asked Terry to provide her side of the story. She promised to email some quotes, but, so far, they have not arrived.

Last month she denied paying herself any "bonuses" and says her treasurer's salary is $20,000 without benefits. She is paid an additional $18,000 for office manager duties with benefits.

Please see:

CLIFFORD: Nitro In Contempt Of Court

It is the Office Manager job that Clifford says Terry was paid the overtime for-with full knowledge of Casto.

"One of the two checks Tifney signed to herself was co-signed by Mayor Rusty Casto and the other was co-signed by Recorder Rita Cox," says Clifford. 

In an exclusive interview Monday night, Casto admitted to PutnamLIVE.com that he co-signed a check to Terry in the amount of $4,000.

"She said she was owed overtime, and I signed it," says Casto. "There will be a full investigation and Council will meet tomorrow night."

PutnamLIVE.com will be at that meeting to bring you the Nitro Council's reaction.

Nitro resident Karen Fritz has been chasing down the money paid to Terry for months. Her lawsuit earlier this year unseated Terry as Treasurer for a few days over a bonding technicality. However, Fritz has said all along that Terry and Nitro have not been forthcoming with city records about money. Apparently, Fritz is correct again.

"I'm dismayed that Tifney Terry has chosen this path," says Fritz. "I've said all long that things are not right in Nitro.

Fritz says she wants reform in Nitro so that taxpayers can have confidence in the integrity of the town.

"I hope that the City Council realizes their position in all of this and takes the appropriate action," Fritz adds. "I am prepared to do whatever it takes to see that the residents of Nitro understand what fair and truly open government is. They deserve more than what they are getting.  I am almost certain, after the investigation, other things will probably surface." 

Clifford is Fritz' attorney. He has been trying to force Nitro to properly respond to Fritz' Freedom of Information Act Requests asking for documentation of monies paid to Terry.

"The refusal of the Mayor, and the City Attorney to provide the information sought in the FOIA requests was undoubtedly to delay to allow time to cover-up these payments," says Clifford. "This information has, in addition, been provided to Judge Berger, who has pending before her a contempt petition against the City of Nitro and Ms. Terry based upon their failure to mediate as required by Judge Berger's July 13 order.  It is the position of my client that Ms. Terry and Mayor Casto should immediately resign and, if not, a petition to remove them from office alleging the  misappropriation of public monies and alteration of public computer records will be filed."

PutnamLIVE.com has copies of the check and a summary of Terry's overtime hours. Please see them at the bottom of this story.

In addition, Clifford alleges that other Nitro officials have been improperly paid. PutnamLIVE.com will bring you that information as it becomes available.