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An Alexandria city employee was arrested in Spotsylvania County and charged with three felonies, Alexandria officials said Thursday. Robert Mains, an employee in the Department of Emergency Communications, was charged with forgery, identity theft and using false information to obtain a loan. City officials and Spotsylvania County authorities would not provide any additional details of the charges against Mains, but they said the charges are unrelated to Main’s work for Alexandria.
The Alexandria Police Department began investigating Mains in October on those charges, after which the city placed him on administrative leave without pay. Alexandria police eventually transferred the case to Spotsylvania County, where Mains lives. The Alexandria Police Department did not return a call seeking comment. Though Alexandria police had started the investigation, such cases are typically transferred to the suspect’s home county and Spotsylvania authorities eventually made the arrest.
Mains, who makes $79,000 a year, was hired by Alexandria in 1980 and has worked for the Department of Emergency Communications since February. Alexandria spokesman Tony Castrilli said Mains had no prior criminal history and no history of internal disciplinary actions. He was released from prison on bond pending trial, officials said.
Mains is the second Alexandria employee to face felony charges in as many months. The city’s former deputy director of general services, Timothy Wanamaker, pleaded guilty to a felony charge in federal court in Buffalo, N.Y., on Nov. 29. While working for the city of Buffalo, Wanamaker “admitted to using work-issued credit cards to pay for personal travel and expenses”, according to the city. He left his job in Buffalo in 2008 and was hired by Alexandria in August 2010, officials said. He was placed on administrative leave immediately after Alexandria officials learned of his guilty plea and he later resigned.
An audit of his financial transactions while working for Alexandria revealed no evidence of “internal financial problems or issues,” Castrilli said today.
