Former Arts Director P. David Romei took the stand in his felony theft trial Monday and gave explanations for each of the 12 counts lodged against him.
He said some of the cases stem from misunderstandings, while he blamed a few on the result of poor bookkeeping or because prosecutors didn't understand the workings of Arts Council business.
The former executive director of the Arts Council of Brazos Valley is on trial for obtaining $15,460 worth of reimbursements from the council and the city of College Station for money he didn't spend on agency business and work he didn't complete. He also used Arts Council credit cards to pay for more than $10,000 worth of plane tickets and other travel costs for himself and family members, prosecutors said.
In addition, he faces misapplication of fiduciary funds charges for four political donations worth $1,750 that he made with Arts Council money, prosecutors said. The Arts Council is a nonprofit corporation and its money can't be legally used for political contributions.
Arts Council board members testified last week that none of the expenses were approved.
If convicted, Romei could face up to 10 years in prison. He is eligible for probation because he has no prior felony convictions.
Romei testified for the final three hours of Monday's proceedings and will return to the stand Tuesday at 8:40 a.m. in the 361st district courtroom.
Houston attorney Richard "Racehorse" Haynes referred to the case against his client as a "witch hunt" and asked Romei why he thought he was being prosecuted.
"I have prayed to God to give me that answer for two years and I haven't an answer, but he will reveal it one day," he said on the fifth day of testimony in the trial.
Haynes asked Romei about a $7,400 reimbursement he received in December 2004 for what he described as consulting work provided to the city of College Station. District Attorney Bill Turner presented documents last week that showed the city paid the Arts Council money to light a firefighter statue, but the owner of Britt Rice Electric testified that he did the work for free and Romei knew that.
Romei said that he estimated the lighting would cost $7,400, but that the city paid the bill before the electrician informed Romei it would cost nothing. The business owner testified last week that the cost of lighting the statue actually would have been about $400.
"This is one of those things that is convoluted," Romei said. "If you paint it one way it makes me look really bad and if you look at it another way it makes me look fair and honest."
He said that at the time of the reimbursement, he was owed money from the city for consulting work he did -- including organizing plans for a proposed city center and writing speeches for the mayor. Romei said he called Tom Brymer, the city manager at the time, to ask if he could use the money for other purposes.
"I said, 'Tom can we use that money for something else as long as it is consistent with the Arts Council policies?' and I said, 'You promised me a consulting fee for what I have done,'" Romei said. "He said 'I have no problem with the way you use it and I think that you deserve it.'"
Brymer, who was fired in 2005 for reasons unrelated to the Romei case, has not testified in Romei's trial.
Romei said he used the Arts Council's credit card to buy plane tickets to his father's funeral in Alabama in order to increase the card's frequent flyer miles. He said he believed he paid the money back, but was mourning and may have forgotten.
He said the same mistake happened for a trip to his grandmother's funeral the following year.
In November 2002, Romei used the Arts Council credit card to fly his mother and niece into College Station for the dedication of the Brazos Valley Veterans Memorial, according to documents provided by prosecutors.
About 15 people were flown in for the event and Romei said he thought he used the Arts Council's frequent flyer miles to bring in his mother and niece, he testified.
"As it turned out, it was one of the busiest times of my life and I did not know that I had to pay it back," he said. "I would have paid it back, of course."
Romei also used an Arts Council credit card to pay for a trip to Europe with his niece and a friend, prosecutors said. The friend reimbursed the council and Romei paid for his niece's ticket, but he did not provide reimbursement for his own ticket.
Prosecutors previously played a recording of Romei speaking with an investigator from the Brazos County District Attorney's Office in which he said the European trip was a vacation. However, he said on Monday that the trip was related to agency business. He gets ideas for public art in Brazos County from trips to Europe, he said.
"When I go to Europe, it's work for me but it was great pleasure to go with my family and my colleague," Romei said. "The way I look at it is if there is a cowboy museum in Germany, then the director better come to Texas. If we have a fine arts museum and I am the executive director then I better go to Europe because that is where it all started."
Romei remained calm during most of his testimony, but did appear emotional when Haynes asked if he felt the investigator deceived him into admitting that it was a personal trip.
"I did," he said, appearing to be on the brink of tears.
The investigator, Brian Schwartz, testified that he did not tell Romei that he was recording their conversation or that he had a search warrant for his house during most of the time that they talked. He was not required to by law to inform someone under investigation of either fact.
Romei also was reimbursed for $5,000 and $3,450 donations to be made to the Texas A&M Foundation. None of those donations were ever made, prosecutors said.
An uncashed $5,000 check for the A&M Foundation from his personal account was found in Romei's house and he testified that he simply forgot to mail it. The $3,450 reimbursement was actually for several other Arts Council expenses Romei personally paid. The description of the payment was marked incorrectly by the bookkeeper, he said.
"I am sorry it was mislabeled but things get mislabeled," he said, adding that about 75 checks are written a month from the Arts Council.
About $1,510 spent on prescriptions was a simple mistake, Romei said. He reached an agreement with Arts Council board members to help him pay for prescription drugs, he said, and used the council's credit card for that purchase. He said he filed for a reimbursement, not realizing that he already used the credit card. Whatever Romei was being treated for has not come up during the trial.
The money tied to political donations was reimbursed just before Romei left the Arts Council. He had agreed to spend more than $1,000 on a dinner for the Brazos Symphony Orchestra after he resigned, he said, and reimbursed himself in advance. He attached the reimbursement to the donations because he did not want to return to the council to ask for the money after he left his position.
"I could have easily attached a $1,000 check to the humane society or a $1,000 check to hospice, he said.
Haynes did not finish his questioning of Romei on Monday and Turner will not be able to cross-examine him until Haynes finishes Tuesday. Turner called more than a dozen witnesses in the trial last week and rested his case Monday morning.
Haynes began the morning by delivering an opening statement in which he urged jurors to remember the positive things Romei did for the community.
"The evidence will show that Dr. Romei was all about work, integrity and accountability," he said. "He is the epitome of patriotism and he lives by the word of God."
Arts Council board president Carol Wagner and former president Becky Russell testified Monday that Romei sent embarrassing pictures of current Arts Council executive director Padraic Fisher to board members and city leaders.
In legal documents, Romei's lawyers have suggested that sending those pictures was the reason for the "witch hunt" against their client.
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