SPAT OVER DATA ENDS IN DRAW, NEW REVIEW

SCOTT CITY -- The latest rulings in small claims court between Scott City's mayor and his former employer ended in a draw.

But, Cape Girardeau County prosecuting attorney Morley Swingle might have the last say in the fight. Swingle said he will review the tape recordings of the court hearing to see if criminal charges are warranted against the mayor.

Mayor Larry Forhan brought the suit last May, asking for more than $500 of unpaid wages and commissions from N.W. "Bruesstar" Bell of Bell Marketing Concepts, which formerly published a weekly paper called the Scott City Newspaper.

Bell, publisher of the Scott City News-Journal, made a counterclaim of $1,500 in the suit that claimed Forhan had tampered with computer data, which resulted in the newspaper losing its subscription lists and other accounting information.

In the mayor's claim for unpaid wages, Judge Scott Thomsen ruled that Bell had shown evidence that he had paid Forhan.

On Bell's claim that Forhan had destroyed computer data, the judge ruled that Bell had not met the burden of proof in the case.

A personal visit to Bell's office and telephone calls Friday were not returned.

Forhan said this was the second trial in the nine-month dispute. He said he had been awarded $380 last November by Judge Marybelle Mueller, but Bell appealed that ruling, causing the Feb. 17 hearing.

Swingle said he had previously reviewed the case and decided not to file any criminal charges against Forhan.

"After this latest ruling in the civil suit, I'm going to re-evaluate the situation and listen to the tape recording in small claims court to see if there is anything that might change my mind," Swingle said Friday.