RFP Staff
♦ Yesterday, after RFP staff raised questions about a possible cover-up of what Police Chief Rory Collins has called the “Michelle Hardin Case” at Salisbury City Hall, tipsters alerted the RFP to information leading to additional information about payments made to the City of Salisbury by Michelle Bostian, formerly known as Michelle Hardin. Collins composed an email in January of 2014, stating that “if the decision to pursue charges against Ms. Hardin were made, the charge would, in fact, be ‘Embezzlement’.” See that memorandum, titled “Michelle Hardin Case” at https://app.box.com/s/2lmxqflldmm8v7rjbv9k.
In a follow-up review of public files acquired via requests by RFP staffers for public information in accordance with NC General Statute §132-1, we identified two email chains validating that Bostian has made at least one “payment” to the City of Salisbury.
On January 14, 2014, Zack Kyle forwarded an email from Michelle Bostian promising a payment to the City. The promise of payment from Michelle Hardin (Michelle Bostian) can be viewed at https://app.box.com/s/v2m90cw0enn9v3zo88ko.
A month later, on February 14, 2014, Kyle forwarded a sequence of two emails to “mutually terminated”, former City Manager Doug Paris. In the first of two emails forwarded to Paris, Kyle writes Bostian: “Michelle, I have been informed that payment has not been made as agreed upon. Please be advised that if payment is not received by Wednesday February 19, 2014, the city will be turning this matter over to the police department.” The second email was from \current Finance Manager for the City, Wade Furches to Kyle.
Within three hours of the threat to turn matters over to the police department, Bostian hand delivered a check to Furches, who wrote Kyle that “Michelle brought the payment to me today. She said that she just got her money from her 401k on Friday of last week. She had written a check earlier this week and put it in her mail box, but the Postal Service had not been by her house the last couple of days. So, she hand delivered me a check today at the office.” The threat of police action if payment is not received, and the following information about Bostian’s hand-delivered payment can be viewed in emails posted at https://app.box.com/s/94nnqiwms44yg4uxqd6g.
Our report on the possible City Hall cover-up of what Police Chief Rory Collins has called the “Michelle Hardin Case” appeared yesterday. You can read more on the “Michelle Hardin Case” and Collins’ description of a “faster and quieter” resolution of the alleged crime here.
