Second Van Weelden Trial Opens
Participants in case review the CRI video on Monday morning.
Oskaloosa, Iowa – The second trial of Henry ‘Willie’ Van Weelden started Monday morning at the Mahaska County Courthouse. Van Weelden was granted a re-trial after an appeal to the presiding judge on newly discovered evidence.
The evidence in the case was a discovered recording of the Supervisors meeting. The video recording of the meeting came from CRI (Communications Research Institute). According to documents, the recording had been mislabeled.
The State then appealed the ruling for a new trial to the Iowa Supreme Court, but Van Weelden prevailed on his request for the trial.
On Monday, the new trial, that will be decided by Judge Morrison and not a jury, started with opening testimony by another former Mahaska County Supervisor, Lawrence Rouw.
Rouw spent several hours on the stand being questioned about his testimony over re-elected and newly elected in relation to how it was spelled out in the county’s health care plan.
Rouw was also questioned on his comments made in the first trial in relation to those comments he made at a supervisor meeting in April of 2009 and visible on the CRI recording of that meeting.
During the playing of the video, Rouw is heard saying that re-elected should be considered the same as newly elected when adding the health insurance plan. The only difference for that would be someone who is already on the plan would have to wait 12 months for an additional person to be added. If newly elected, the enrollment is instant.
Also to take the stand was Brad Reiman of Bearance, who currently works with administrating the county’s health insurance plan, and Thomas O’Brien. O’Brien worked for Auxiant, as an administrator for the county’s health insurance plan, during the time in question.
The day ended with Greg Gordy on the stand and Robert Sand, of the State Attorney General’s office, questioning the sitting Supervisor about his duties as a trustee of the county health insurance plan.
As with Rouw, the debate of re-elected versus newly elected is the at the heart of the argument, and the validity of a letter signed by Van Weelden that would add his wife, Bonnie Van Weelden, to the county health insurance plan.
Bonnie Van Weelden was already insured at her place of employment.
Defense attorney Matt Moore, as in the testimony of Rouw, scrutinized testimony given in the previous trial against the discovered video recording.
That recording was the basis for the retrial, as was given by then presiding Judge Paul Miller, and the testimony given by witnesses. Read the Story HERE.
CRI is a coverage partner of Oskaloosa News.
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