Dowe decides he might incriminate himself, hopes to end bankruptcy

  For fear he might incriminate himself, former Roanoke City Councilman Alfred Dowe has asked a judge to dismiss his January Chapter 7 filing, which would effectively end his bankruptcy.

  The dismissal hearing is scheduled for April 13th in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Roanoke.

  A Roanoke city grand jury formally indicted Dowe on almost one dozen charges related to the double-billing scandal while he was in office.  The indictments came down last month.

  In court papers asking for dismissal, Dowe’s bankruptcy attorney writes Dowe “believes he cannot answer questions required by the Trustee without incriminating himself.“

  Dowe’s bankruptcy attorney, Chip Magee, said the former councilman is still working to save his south Roanoke home from foreclosure.

  Calling a recent plan but together by Congress in order to help struggling homeowners like Dowe “like manna from heaven,“ Magee said coming out of Chapter 7 would also help Dowe in negoiations with his mortgage holders.

  The plan went into effect March 4th.

  It basically provides incentives from Uncle Sam to mortgage lenders if those lenders work to help stabilize the situation for homeowners either barely meeting their monthly payments, or already behind.

  Dowe’s attorneys handling his criminal case, John Lichtenstein and John Fishwick, provided 10 On Your Side with a statement.  You can read it below:

PRESS STATEMENT

March 19, 2009

  No one wants to be forced to file for bankruptcy. And Mr. Dowe is no different than anyone else in this regard. But his financial condition has long been and now remains very difficult.
  Nevertheless, long before he was charged, Mr. Dowe made payments to the City of Roanoke to reimburse the City regarding the items at issue.
  As the case involving the City continues, it is proper for Mr. Dowe to focus exclusively on this matter. For this reason, he has asked the bankruptcy court to dismiss his bankruptcy case. He does so to allow himself the opportunity to complete the resolution of the case involving the City. And it is further his hope that over time he will be able to re-pay his personal debts.
Mr. Dowe remains fully committed to properly resolving the matters with the City of Roanoke.

John E. Lichtenstein
John P. Fishwick, Jr.
Lichtenstein Fishwick & Johnson, P.L.C.
http://www.vatrials.com
Attorneys for Alfred Dowe