A lame duck Nemaha County commissioner has been fined by the state Accountability and Disclosure Commission for using his status as an elected official for financial gain.

The commissioner, Richard Moody of rural Auburn, agreed late last month to pay a $1,200 fine for an indiscretion cited after an investigation by Accountability and Disclosure.

According to the settlement agreement, the 20-year county commissioner supported the installation of a flood-control device at the county's expense of several thousands of dollars which benefited land that he farmed.

"The reason for the project was to prevent back-flooding on that property (farmed by Moody)," said William Howland, general counsel for Accountability and Disclosure.

Red flags were raised, Howland said, when the project was placed on the construction list and completed in the same year. That gave the appearance it had received special treatment, he said, because projects normally must be listed years before actual construction begins.

The complaint that spurred an investigation was lodged about one year ago. Six months later, as rumors about the flood-control device circulated, Moody lost a bid for another term on the Nemaha County Board of Commissioners when he was beat in the spring primary election.

"I'd say the campaigning that was done was mostly coffee-shop talk and, yeah, this was an issue, but there were a lot of things" said Eric Bohling of rural Auburn. Bohling filed the original complaint against Moody, he said, at the bequest of a neighbor.

In a letter to Accountability and Disclosure earlier this year, Moody wrote: "… This entire issue is an attempt at character assassination and was done for political motives."

In the settlement agreement signed last month, Moody denies the allegations but agrees the Accountability and Disclosure Commission has a reasonable basis for them.

"It would've cost me $8,000 to $9,000 to defend this, and the fine was $1,200," Moody said Wednesday.

"I shouldn't have voted on it, I guess," Moody added.

He was referring to clearance the three-member Nemaha County Board of Commissioners gave the flood-control device when it approved a one- and six-year construction plan. The project was included in the plan.

Nemaha County Highway Superintendent Thomas Catlett said Wednesday the flood-control device was a legitimate need for the county and that he couldn't recall who requested it be put in the construction plan. Moody said it replaced equipment removed after the floods of 1993 and that it primarily aided property other than that he farmed.

Accountability and Disclosure conducted its own investigation of the flood-control device, using information from sources including the foreman of the crew that installed it, and concluded, according to Howland, that protecting land Moody farmed appeared to be the impetus for the project.

The motion to approve the settlement with Moody was unanimously approved by the Accountability and Disclosure Commission. Moody will leave office in early January.

Reach Nate Jenkins at 473-7223 or njenkins@journalstar.com.