By Mark Hansel
NKyTribune managing editor
The Boone County Republican Party Monday voted to delay considering asking embattled Commonwealth’s Attorney Linda Tally Smith to resign until the hearing that prompted questions about her conduct in office is concluded.
Boone County GOP Chairman Josh Walton explains the limitations of the party’s authority prior to Monday’s vote (photos by Mark Hansel).
Despite an impassioned plea from Boone County attorney Robert Neace, a majority of the Party’s voting members in attendance chose not to call for Tally Smith to step down immediately.
While the vote carries no force of law, a vote in favor of requesting resignation would have sent a message to the Commonwealth’s Attorney of the party’s opinion.
“I want to be clear…that Boone County Republican Party does not have any authority, nor do we have the power to force anyone’s resignation,” Party Chairman Josh Walton said. “Any statement that we would make, would simply be an expression of the desire of this county committee.”
Allegations of questionable conduct by Tally Smith resulted in a request for a hearing by the State Attorney General’s office to determine if convicted killer David Wayne Dooley is entitled to a new trial.
Dooley was sentenced to life in prison in 2014 for killing Michelle Mockbee at Thermo Fisher Scientific, in the Northern Kentucky Industrial Park in Florence.
The mother of two was found bludgeoned to death shortly after she arrived at work on May 29, 2012.
During the hearing, Tally Smith admitted to having sexual relations with Bruce McVay , the lead investigator in the case, but said the affair began after Dooley’s murder trial concluded.
A thumb drive delivered by a fired employee of the Commonwealth’s Attorney’s office, to the Office of Attorney General (AG) included evidence of the affair. It also included several allegations of misconduct by McVay and other investigators in the Boone County Sheriff’s office that were chronicled in messages sent from Tally Smith to the lead detective.
At the hearing, Dooley’s defense team argued that Tally Smith withheld evidence, including a video that showed a man, identified as a “random dude,” walking on the Thermo Fisher Scientific property 10 hours before Mockbee was killed.
Tally Smith said at the hearing that she did not find out about the video until months after Dooley’s murder trial, but McVay said under oath that she knew about it before the proceedings began.
Boone County Attorney Robert Neace asked the Party to vote in favor of calling for Commonwealth’s Attorney Linda Tally Smith’s resignation. Neace has also asked the State Attorney General’s office to investigate Tally Smith’s conduct in office.
The Boone County Republican Party scheduled discussion of the “Commonwealth Attorney Situation,” on Monday’s agenda in response to calls to Walton about the issue.
The Northern Kentucky Tribune published an analysis of the proceedings and of Tally Smith’s conduct that was revealed in documents on the portion of the thumb drive admitted in evidence. It included a call for the AG to investigate both the Commonwealth’s Attorney’s office and the Boone County Sheriff’s office and a request for Tally Smith to resign, out of respect for her elected office.
Walton said he has encountered three schools of thought, among people who have contacted him over the last several months regarding the conduct of Tally Smith.
“There’s a group of people that believe the party should not get involved and that we as a county committee should not make any type of statement,” Walton said. “There is another mindset among party members that have been contacting me, that the county committee should await the results of all legal proceedings before making any type of a statement. There is another group of people who have contacted me, who believe the party should call for Linda Tally Smith’s immediate resignation.”
Tally Smith did not attend the meeting, but the NKyTribune obtained a copy of an email she sent to a committee member apologizing for her conduct and asking the Party not to vote to call for her immediate resignation.
“Approximately two years ago, I made a number of choices in my personal life that I truly regret. I am especially remorseful for the personal decisions that I made that caused pain to others, most particularly my own family,” the email stated. “However, the personal mistakes made during a difficult time in my life have not impacted the work that I have done as Commonwealth’s Attorney or the rights of any persons prosecuted by my office. I would ask that the party refrain from taking any action, at least until such time as all necessary information is available to be reviewed and discussed.”
Tally Smith
Walton opened the topic for discussion and Marc Wilson, a Boone County precinct co-chair and one of the state’s top political lobbyists, suggested the party delay comment.
“I would make a motion that there would be no statement from the Boone County Party until all of the legal proceedings have been exhausted and the process has played out,” Wilson said.
Boone County Attorney Bob Neace then explained why he believes the Party should call for Tally Smith’s immediate resignation.
“I will tell you that in my 31 years of practicing law, this is possibly the most bizarre and unbelievable thing that I have seen,” Neace said. “People are getting hurt, the justice system is being hurt.”
Neace admitted that he had hoped Tally Smith would resign of her own accord. He said that he has been asked about Tally Smith every day in recent months by a wide range of people and he wanted to make his feelings public.
“On March 22, following the hearing of the Dooley matter, I contacted the attorney for Linda Tally Smith, she is represented by counsel in a civil matter she has filed to request that a court keep sealed documents that are relevant in this whole matter, and I requested that Linda Tally Smith resign at that time,” Neace said. “I did not receive a positive response to my request.”
Neace followed that up with a series of emails to Tally Smith’s counsel in which he again asked her to resign and was again rejected. Tally Smith also issued a statement to the media at that time indicating she would not resign.
Michelle Mockbee’s sister, Jennifer Schneider, attended Monday’s meeting. Schneider said she was there to support Commonwealth’s Attorney Linda Tally Smith
“At that point, I requested via correspondence by email to the Attorney General of the Commonwealth of Kentucky, that he officially review and investigate the activities of Linda Tally Smith concerning this matter,” Neace said.
He added that it would be inappropriate for his office, as a prosecutor, to get involved in the matter, but as a citizen of the county he had a right to speak up and chose to do that.
“Our system of government rests on the foundation of the criminal justice system and if we do not have faith that the prosecutor is doing the right thing, that foundation is going to crumble,” Neace said. “I’m not going to get into who you believe, or don’t believe in terms of the testimony and what’s been said, but Linda Tally Smith remaining our Commonwealth Attorney is untenable.”
Tally Smith can only be removed from office by the Kentucky General Assembly. If she is indicted by a grand jury on a felony charge, she can be relieved of her duties, but not necessarily removed from office.
“Our justice system in Boone County has been damaged greatly and it needs to heal and we need to resolve this, and resolve it as quickly as we can,” Neace said.
Despite Neace’s plea, a majority of voting members chose to wait until the issue is resolved in the courts before considering a recommendation.
Among those in attendance was Jennifer Schneider, Michelle Mockbee’s sister, who said she came in support of Tally Smith.
“I’m here to support her, and the facts of the case,” Schneider said. “I’m in full agreement with what Marc Wilson suggested, and that we should wait until Judge Schrand decides.”
She added that she believes the right person is in jail for her sister’s killing. Dooley has always maintained his innocence.
Circuit Court Judge James R. Schrand presided over Dooley’s murder trial and the retrial hearing. He has asked both sides in the retrial hearing to submit final briefs on April 27.
He will then review the documents, and the evidence submitted at the hearing, and determine whether Dooley is granted a new trial.
Contact Mark Hansel at mark.hansel@nkytrib.com
She needs to go.
If you are not sure then it is always good to wait, consult a professional and then move with the case.