Jury Seated And Opening Statements Heard In VanWeelden Trial

Willie VanWeelden (left) is seen sitting with his defense team Monday as his trial got underway.

Oskaloosa, Iowa – The jury selection started Monday morning shortly after 9 am. This is normally a short process, but when you have someone like a sitting County Supervisor the process can be a much more difficult one.

The packed courtroom of potential jurors were questioned by the state on nearly every angle of possible relationship conflicts, not only with the defendant but also with witnesses and the prosecution and defense teams. The defense team then equally questioned the jury pool until the 13 jurors and 1 alternate were found. Court was in session by 2:40 in the afternoon.

VanWheelden is charged with;

• Count 1 – (Theft in the First Degree). The State of Iowa is claiming that between January 1, 2009 and March 31, 2011, VanWeelden did commit Theft in the First Degree by taking property. This charge is a Class C Felony that could carry a maximum of 10 years imprisonment, and a fine not to exceed $10,000.
• Count 2 – (Felonious Conduct in Office). This charge is a Class D Felony that could carry a maximum of 5 years in imprisonment, and a fine not to exceed $7,500.
• Count 3 -(Tampering with Records). The charge states this would be an aggravated misdemeanor that could carry a maximum of 2 years imprisonment, and a fine not to exceed $5,000.

The trial is set to last until the end of the week. It will involve both current and past Mahaska County Supervisors, including Greg Gordy and Lawrence Rouw. Also, Mahaska County Auditor Kay Swanson and Sue Brown from the Auditors office will be involved.

Representatives from Auxiant Insurance as well as an investigator from DCI are expected to take the stand for the prosecution.

An opening statement was given by the prosecution in the case, Becky Goettsch.

The judge reminded the jury that such comments were not evidence in the case.

That is the attitude that Henry VanWeelden had as a sitting Board of Supervisor when he wanted to get his wife on the health insurance plan and she was not eligible. “Just get it done, do what has to be done, maybe nobody will notice. We’ll just slip this under the radar,” are the claims of prosecutor Goettsch.

“Something happens in the summer of ’08. And Mr. VanWeelden goes in to Sue Brown and says I want to get my wife back on the plan,” Goettsch goes on to say, “There’s a problem here, he’s not newly elected and he’s not a new employee.”

“Nobody has a problem with having Mrs. VanWeelden on the insurance if she meets the rules. Right?” Goettsch explains that the paperwork was submitted, “and she fills out the health questionnaire she went through, and he fills out that request. And then your going to see some paperwork coming back from Auxiant, the company who handles all of that paperwork and whether someone can be covered. And what it is, is denied, health is not good. You can submit some more records maybe and we’ll look at them and see if we’ll take the risk on you.”

“You’ll see another letter; rejected,” Goettsch said that was the second denial in her opening comments. “Those denials are addressed to Mr. VanWeelden.”, saying that VanWeelden knew that his wife did not meet the underwriting criteria. “At this point, she is uninsurable.”

“So then we fast forward to November of ’08, and Mr. VanWeelden goes through an election and he’s re-elected.” Goettsch stated that VanWeelden starts discussion with the insurance plan claim administrator. “He does not talk to Lawrence or Greg, the other Supervisors, he talks with the claim administrator. According to Goettsch, the claims administrator writes VanWeelden back, saying that the Supervisors would need to take some action in order to get Mrs. VanWeelden back on the plan.

Goettsch claims in her opening statement that VanWeelden knew that the only way his wife could get onto the plan, “is if there’s some big changes to the plan.” She goes on to say, “So he floats it out to Lawrence and he says, umm… I’d like to get my wife on the plan. This is before a budget meeting in ’09. I’d like to get my wife on the plan, and Lawrence says, well, I think she’s a late entrant, I think you have to go through underwriting.”

Goettsch says that Lawrence Rouw was unaware of any of the previous months that VanWeelden was trying to get his wife on the plan.

Goettsch says that VanWeelden crafted a letter on Mahaska County Board of Supervisor letterhead to the insurance representatives, “The Board of Supervisors is in agreement that Bonnie VanWeelden should be placed on the county insurance starting February 1. Not true.” Goettsch says. “The Board of Supervisors is not in agreement. They’ve never talked about it. Greg has no idea.”

According to Goettsch, the DCI was called in to investigate when Rouw overheard a phone conversation involving insurance claims for VanWeelden’s wife and Rouw asked Gordy if he had OK’d it.

The defense informed the court that they were reserving their opening statement for a later time. The prosecution will start presenting it’s case at 9:00 am Tuesday morning.

A criminal charge is merely a criminal charge and not an indication of guilt. All suspects should be considered innocent until proven guilty.