Councilman accused of election fraud resigns; charge dropped

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Prosecutors on Monday dropped an election fraud charge against Manassas Park councilman Peter Farrell, who resigned his seat Friday.

Farrell, 51, had been charged with lying about being a Manassas Park resident when he ran for his seat on the city council last year.

In a press release Monday, Farrell stated that while he was living in Manassas Park at the time of the election, he is now spending more time at a residence outside of the city.

In documents submitted to the Manassas Park voter registrar before and after the election, Farrell listed his home address as 9301 Joshua Court in Manassas Park.

“The big point that I want to make is that I — 100 percent, absolutely — lived in Manassas Park when I ran for election and was elected, and I provided overwhelming evidence to prove that to the prosecutors,” Farrell said.

Farrell, a Democrat, was elected to the council in 2008.

He was scheduled to stand trial Monday, but prosecutors declared the charge nolle prosequi, meaning they do not wish to prosecute him at this time. The charge can be brought again at a later time.

Prosecutors did not comment on their reason for dropping the case.

Farrell said he believed the charge against him stemmed from the fact that he requested a study “regarding the amount of taxpayers’ money being spent for the city’s legal services to Manassas Park City Attorney Dean Crowhurst’s law firm.”

“I got along well with the governing body. I think we had a good professional working relationship, but I did have a conflict with the city attorney,” Farrell said.

Manassas Park Mayor Frank Jones said the charges had nothing to do with Farrell’s request for a study.

“I am absolutely appalled. That is blatantly deceitful and misrepresentative,” Jones said. “There was no linkage between the two at all.  Mr Farrell’s behavior —  that the commonwealth attorney acted on —  was Mr. Farrell’s and had no relationship to any of the discussions about any of the contracting for services across the city.”

Crowhurst said it was his “policy” to avoid talking about past or present members of council because of his “close relationship with the city council and the mayor.”

“However, because Mr. Farrell has challenged my integrity in his press release, I feel compelled to state clearly that his allegations are categorically untrue,” Crowhurst said. “Furthermore,  I want to point out that I am not the city’s prosecuting attorney. [Prince William County Commonwealth’s Attorney Paul Ebert] is, and his office chose to prosecute Mr. Farrell based on the evidence, and the grand jury handed down an indictment based on the same evidence.”

Farrell, the owner of Peter Farrell Supercar Inc. on Manassas Drive, said area residents should still expect to see him about town.

“I’m still going to be around, but just as a business man. Instead of sitting on the bench, I’ll sit on the other side,” he said.

Farrell said the decision to leave was not made easily.

“I do have some regrets because I really felt I was doing good service for the citizens and bringing another viewpoint to the table that isn’t always brought to the table,” he said.

Jones said a couple of things have to happen to get a replacement for Farrell.

“We have to petition the courts for a special election and we have to appoint an interim until such time as a special election is held,” Jones said. “The interim appointment, I believe, has to be made within 45 days.”

The court usually tries to dovetail special elections into the next upcoming election, Jones said.

The city council normally interviews people who are interested in the job and then appoints a replacement, Jones said.

Manassas Bureau Chief Keith Walker can be reached at 703-369-6751.