CHARLESTON — Pleasants County Prosecuting Attorney Brian Carr and Assistant Prosecuting Attorney Paul Marteney have been charged by state investigators for their part in dismissing serious charges for monetary donations to a Christmas gift program.

The Investigative Panel of the West Virginia Lawyer Disciplinary Board charged Carr on Oct. 15 with 20 counts of multiple violations of the Rules of Professional Conduct — the Bible for lawyers in the state — as well as violations of state code.

Marteney, Carr’s law firm partner and an assistant prosecutor in Pleasants County since 2011, was charged Oct. 15 with five charges of violations of the Rules of Professional Conduct for participating in what has since been called “SantaGate,” as well as two unrelated charges.

SantaGate refers to the Slow Down for the Holidays program operated by the St. Marys Police Department. The program began 13 years ago when Carr was a municipal judge.

When the program first started, police officers would dismiss minor traffic citations in exchange for donations of $50 gift cards or the equivalent of $50 in toys. The Pleasants County Prosecutor’s Office and the Pleasants County Sheriff’s Department got involved in 2018, two years after Carr was elected as county prosecutor.

According to the statement of charges, instead of dismissing minor traffic infractions, Carr and Marteney allegedly dismissed dozens of select state misdemeanor charges between 2018 and 2020. Carr self-reported to the Office of Disciplinary Counsel (ODC) at the end of December 2020 after questions arose about the propriety of participating in the program. The ODC opened an investigation in January 2020.

Amy Crossan, chairwoman of the Lawyer Disciplinary Board’s Investigative Panel, wrote in the statement of charges that Carr and Marteney “knowingly engaged in a fraudulent official proceeding or legal process” in dismissing the charges in exchange for monetary donations.

“There is no statute, rule, or case law that allows for the legal dismissal of a magistrate court case in exchange for criminal defendants’ payment of money or goods to the Slow Down for the Holidays program,” Crossan wrote. “Slow Down for the Holidays was not sanctioned by state law.”

The Office of Disciplinary Counsel, which assists the Lawyer Disciplinary Board, investigates complaints regarding violations of the Rules of Professional Conduct that attorneys follow in West Virginia. The Lawyer Disciplinary Board makes recommendations to the West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals, whose member determine what disciplinary actions to take.

Carr responded by email Wednesday to a request for comment from the Pleasants County Prosecutor’s Office for both Carr and Marteney.

“I have been required to hire a lawyer to defend the charges made by the disciplinary board against me,” Carr said. “That is all I am permitted to say at this time.”

Misdemeanor charges dismissed in Pleasants County Magistrate Court by Carr and Marteney included people passing stopped school buses, speeding, littering, possession of alcohol by minors and multiple offenses for driving under the influence.

“The equal protection doctrine requires that persons in similar circumstances must receive similar treatment under the law,” Crossan wrote. “Outside the statutory structure governed by the laws as prescribed by the Legislature, (Carr and Marteney) chose select criminal defendants … and arbitrarily determined the amount of money to be paid to the Slow Down for the Holidays program in exchange for the State’s motion to dismiss pending criminal charges. As such, (Carr and Marteney) violated the due process rights of defendants …”

Former Pleasants County magistrates Randy Nutter and Lisa Taylor received public admonishments from the West Virginia Judicial Investigation Commission last month after cooperating with an investigation into their participation in the Slow Down for the Holidays program. Both former magistrates agreed to resign and never seek public office again for any judicial positions.

Carr is also facing a charge of violating the Rules of Professional Conduct by allegedly continuing to operate a private law practice while serving as a county prosecuting attorney and making a false statement to a circuit judge. State Code requires county prosecutors to be full-time without any other type of employment.

According to the charge, 3rd Judicial Circuit Judge Tim Sweeney advised Carr he was not permitted to have a private law practice, but Carr allegedly told Sweeney in a letter in May that he was no longer involved with any civil cases. However, the Clerk of the state Supreme Court informed Sweeney in June that Carr was the counsel of record in a civil appeal before the court. Carr withdrew as attorney in the case later that month.

Carr and Marteney have 30 days from the time they were served with the statement of charges to file a response to the charges. If no response is filed, it is considered an admission to the charges in the documents.