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Highlands Today

Dan Andrews Case Continued Until March 5

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Brad Dickerson

Published: January 22, 2009

SEBRING - The case of Sebring City Councilman Dan Andrews, who was arrested Nov. 24, 2008, on felony charges, was continued until March 5.

Defense and prosecuting attorneys were present Thursday in the Highlands County Courthouse for a pretrial conference in the case, which is being presided over by special Judge Jeff J. McKibben from Hardee County.

Andrews' attorney, William Fletcher, said a speedy trial has been waived in the case.

He also told McKibben that he had not yet received the discovery or the evidence in the case, leading to the granting of a continuance. It was expected the evidence would be delivered to the defense within a week.

The defendant is charged with grand theft, scheming to defraud and embezzlement by making false entries on the books of a corporation, stemming from his position as executive director of the Greater Sebring Chamber of Commerce.

Andrews allegedly used his corporate credit card to pay his wife's cell phone bills, buy her a Tiffany necklace, charge gasoline, landscape his house and buy an expensive set of golf clubs.

On April 22, 2008, Andrews was terminated from his position by the chamber executive board after it was discovered he had mismanaged organizational finances, according to a Nov. 25, 2008, Highlands Today report.

Board members and an accounting firm allegedly discovered about $90,000 in dedicated scholarship funds had been moved to an operational fund and spent, and $29,000 in grant money was not paid to a contractor who remodeled the chamber's downtown welcome center.

After Thursday's hearing, Fletcher said the idea of bringing in an accounting firm to go through the evidence has been discussed, but no decisions have been made.

"The state just got the paperwork," Fletcher said. "We actually don't have the paperwork yet. I don't know how voluminous it is. So, until we go through it, I'm not sure how we're going to proceed, whether we're going to get an accounting firm to go through it or what we're going to do.
"It's early in the ballgame."

The attorney did not want to discuss any other specifics about the case or the charges leveled against Andrews.

"I try not to say too much," Fletcher said. "We're just proceeding."

Highlands Today reporter Brad Dickerson can be reached at (863) 386-5838 or bdickerson@highlandstoday.com

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