ÁñÁ«ÊÓƵ

It was May 17, 2008, and the hours in the legislative session were ticking down. I was in my first year covering the Capitol for the Post-Dispatch. Goodman, a Republican state senator from Mount Vernon, was exasperated as he battled with Speaker Rod Jetton, the powerful Republican, to repeal a law passed a year earlier.

Jetton, as a favor to a donor in southwest Missouri, had slipped in language allowing one landowner to create a village. Goodman and a majority of legislators knew the law could create mischief, with folks across the state trying to create their own villages to bypass building codes and other regulations.

“This is a flagrant effort to evade the county’s planning and zoning laws,� the former executive director of the Missouri Municipal League said at the time.

During the debate, Goodman, a lawyer who is now a judge on the , raised his voice and choked with emotion as he fumed over “this kind of delay from people who don’t care about the policy in this state.�

Jetton’s allies in the Senate were blocking Goodman’s attempt to repeal the village law. They eventually relented after a filibuster that would last until 4 a.m. The repeal would pass but there was a catch: it wouldn’t go into effect until January 2009.

Peaceful Village, a 78-acre tract in Jefferson County near High Ridge, would be approved as a village a few months after the repeal — but before it actually went into effect.

The village was created by Jack Walter, who built the cross-shaped New Hope Fellowship Church on property he ran as a Christian camp for children. The mischief predicted by Goodman and others would come later, after Pastor Dan Ross Jr. bought the property from Walter and installed his family members on the village board.

What happened next is outlined in a 109-page whistleblower’s report that has been delivered to Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey, State Auditor Scott Fitzpatrick and Secretary of State Denny Hoskins.

The report, which I obtained from a source close to state government, alleges years of election fraud (focused on the fact that Ross never lived in the village), violations of the Sunshine Law, voter intimidation, illegal annexations, nepotism and violations of conflict-of-interest laws.

Kelly Fagala, the chair of the Peaceful Village Board of Trustees, declined comment on the whistleblower report, but it’s clear from the report that she is in agreement with at least some of its conclusions.

At Peaceful Village’s most recent board meeting, Fagala entered a report into the public record outlining alleged violations of state annexation law. The allegations revolve around a property that Ross bought when he was on the board. He developed it into a sober-home complex run by his son, Daniel Ross III, who is also on the board.

The whistleblower complaint includes sworn, notarized statements from Fagala and Danielle Shannon, the village clerk. Much of the complaint deals with the board’s decision to annex the property on Antire Road across from the church for the benefit of the Ross family. The entire process was fraught with illegality, the whistleblower complaint alleges, beginning with the fact that Ross didn’t live in the village during the time he was a voting trustee, guiding the process to obtain the property.

Once Fagala started to realize the issues with the annexation, other board members held an illegal meeting to try to cut her off, the complaint alleges.

On Dec. 16, the complaint alleges, “Daniel Ross III called a secret, closed-door meeting with Rachel Ross (his wife and fellow trustee), Steven Duncan (a trustee), Danielle Shannon (the clerk), and Elizabeth Lum (a St. Louis real estate attorney) for the purpose of discussing the annexation of 5920 Antire Rd. The chair, Kelly Fagala, was intentionally kept unaware of this meeting.�

The report also alleges that the village has virtually no records from the time Ross has controlled it, including various financial reports required by law.

Ross has previously defended the annexations and his stewardship of the village. At a recent board meeting, he declined to answer questions from me.

Bailey’s office is at least aware of the Sunshine Law issues with the village, as it has been advising Fagala on how to respond to records requests and bring the village into compliance. The state auditor doesn’t comment on whistleblower complaints. Last year, the Missouri Legislature passed a law allowing the auditor to investigate municipalities without a citizen petition or official request from the elected board.

As emotional as Goodman was when he pushed to repeal the village law before it could cause damage, the folks fighting today are even more anguished.

The tiny village has less than 70 people, and most are connected in some capacity to the church or various nonprofits run by the Ross family. Tensions run high at board meetings, with Fagala and Shannon asking questions and Ross III mostly trying to avoid answering them.

Like a toddler learning to walk, the village law fell down after its initial steps forward. Now, 17 years later, a whistleblower is asking the state to exercise some tough love before more damage is done.