Magnet, chamber to add background checks to policy

Leaders of Cape Girardeau's top two economic development agencies say they will now add criminal background checks to the list of requirements for developers seeking state incentives.

Chamber of Commerce CEO John Mehner and Magnet executive director Mitch Robinson said the move is being made in light of the state's decision Tuesday to withdraw $2 million in state aid from a downtown dental and vision care cooperative because it is being led by a man on probation for passing bad checks.

"Basically, after 17-plus years, we are going to change the way we do due diligence," Mehner said. "Specifically, that is likely to include all the criminal background checks."

Both men said they did not know about the criminal background of Weaver Dickerson until after the news broke publicly last week. Dickerson pleaded guilty in 2007 to writing $96,721 in bad checks in Stoddard County and was placed on five years of probation. Weaver, 34, faces a probation revocation hearing in Bloomfield, Mo., scheduled for Jan. 19 before 35th Circuit Court Judge Stephen Sharp.

"Any time you have a project you thought was going to happen and employ people and see it fall apart, that's not a good thing," Robinson said.

Robinson met Dickerson in late 2008. At that time, Robinson had heard of some financial problems Dickerson had with another venture, TREM Recycling in Dexter, Mo. But Robinson said the Cape Girardeau project moved forward because with any project Magnet deals with, a bank is also involved.

"Any new type of business goes through a financial review," Robinson said. "On any of our projects, we don't dig into the backgrounds and financials of the people. We leave that to the people who do financial work. But that's going to change now. We're going to take a much deeper look because of the backlash on this project."

Mehner and Robinson both said they believe the state's Department of Economic Development would also likely add criminal background checks to its incentives applications.

Dickerson signed the application for $750,000 in the Community Development Block Grant's Action Fund Loan, which stated that no one who had an ownership in the company was under indictment for felony or was on probation or parole. The parent company, Hometown Holding Groups LLC, had also been asking for $1.3 million in state incentives, for the $10 million health care cooperative called Watch Me Smile that was expected to create 135 jobs.

This is the first time either Robinson or Mehner has seen a project lose state funding because of a criminal background. But they said they don't want it to happen again.

"We're going to be doing a much deeper investigation in all the people we put forward and work with," Robinson said. "Whether it be financial or criminal, there will definitely be an increased level of those. We don't want a repeat of this."

smoyers@semissourian.com

388-3642

Pertinent address:

325 Broadway, Cape Girardeau, MO