For 20 years, Joyce Beck and her friends ran a private business through the town’s recreation council, according to a preliminary investigation by the Forest Heights Town Council.
The 30-page report, which covers the town’s 57-year history, its public figures and culture, touches on accusations of corruption, voting irregularities and institutional racism — long before Beck became mayor in May 2005.
New Mayor Myles Spires Jr. said the Prince George’s County town of 2,600 may have lost tens of thousands of dollars over the years.
“We got a real situation here,” Spires said. “It’s going to get ugly.”
Beck was removed from office in January. She could not be reached Tuesday.
In the early 1980s, the town’s Forest Heights Recreation Council became a private corporation headed by Beck, former Town Council Member Anne Reifensneider and Terry Spille, the report states. It continued to receive government money, according to the report.
When the Recreation Council was incorporated, Beck was the first chair of Forest Heights’ ethics commission and served as president of the unincorporated recreation council.
Town leaders have alerted the National White Collar Crime Center in Richmond, and will decide whether to send it on to the FBI and ask to bring charges, Spires said.
The report also alleges that Beck failed to reveal in ethics disclosures her interest in the recreation council; conducted business with the recreation council while she sat on the council; destroyed town documents and records; and misappropriated at least $20,000 as mayor.
Three months before her removal, the police chief filed assault charges against Beck for allegedly slamming a door on an officer’s arm and knocking over a former council member. She fired the police chief and appointed herself chief. The charges were later dropped.
The Town Council commissioned the investigation for $9,000, allowing an outside investigator to interview Forest Heights officials and pore over town documents.
