Dec. 4--RICHMOND, Va. -- The state commission that oversees the Virginia Alcohol Safety Action Program has decertified the Capital Area ASAP in Richmond, fired its executive director and suspended its 12 board members after an investigation found "serious problems" with how the local program was being managed.

Several Richmond ASAP board members, who include local law-enforcement officials and court authorities, said they were notified hastily of the commission's actions last week without any explanation. They said they were invited to attend VASAP's quarterly commission meeting today to learn more.

The Richmond board is bringing an attorney.

"We're totally in shock," said board member Irving Wright, clerk of the Richmond General District Court's traffic division. "We're all disappointed. As far as I know, nobody on our board knows what's going on."

Debra Gardner, executive director of the statewide VASAP, confirmed the commission's actions, which included removing the Capital Area ASAP's certification. That program serves Richmond, Ashland and the counties of Hanover and Goochland.

Gardner said the commission has taken over the Capital Area's program pending further action.

"It's still operational," Gardner said. "We will put somebody from our office [there] in the interim to make sure operations" continue without interruption.

The ASAP program provides educational and substance-abuse services to drug and alcohol offenders who are referred to the program by the courts. The Virginia commission oversees 24 ASAP programs on local levels across the state.

Several Capital Area board members yesterday questioned the commission's authority to seize control of a local program, but Gardner said state law allows such action "when programs aren't operating according to the standards."

The commission's chairman is state Sen. Henry L. Marsh III, D-Richmond, and includes Attorney General-elect Ken Cuccinelli, Henrico Sheriff Mike Wade, House Minority Leader Ward L. Armstrong, D-Henry, and three state judges, among others.

According to one source with knowledge of the investigation, the Capital Area ASAP refused to investigate in a timely manner complaints made against Executive Director Reta Moore by some of her employees and outside contractors.

"They put us in a position where it didn't look like they were going to do an investigation," the source said.

The commission learned of the complaints during a recertification process that involved interviewing Capital Area ASAP employees, according to the source, who spoke on the condition of anonymity. The complaints were forwarded to the Capital Area program's chairman, but he decided not to begin an investigation because no formal complaint had been filed, the source said.

State commissioners were advised, and they voted to hire an outside consultant to investigate the complaints. The consultant compiled a thick report about the Richmond program after interviewing all its employees, the source said.

"There were some serious, serious problems," the source said.

Moore couldn't be reached yesterday for comment.

The Capital Area board includes Hanover Sheriff V. Stuart Cook; Goochland Sheriff James L. Agnew; Hanover Commonwealth's Attorney Ramon E. "Trip" Chalkley III; Goochland Commonwealth's Attorney Claiborne Stokes; former Richmond Deputy Commonwealth's Attorney Matthew P. Geary; Richmond traffic Judge Thomas O. Jones; and Dana G. Schrard, executive director of the Virginia Association of Chiefs of Police, among others.

The board's chairman, Dr. Jon Moss, said the board didn't act immediately because it initially was provided only sketchy details of the allegations in an informal conversation with a board member. The board decided it needed more specifics to conduct a meaningful investigation but was told initially that no further information would be provided, Moss said.

The board then met with the commission and received more details, and at that point "we started planning on how to investigate the allegations," Moss said. The board moved to hire an outside consulting firm, but the commission instructed the board not to proceed, Moss said.

"I think our big issue right now with the commission is this authority and responsibility issue," Moss said. "We're trying to figure out where does [the commission's] authority start and stop? How could the commission do what they did . . . and cut us completely out of the loop?

"We want to get some answers from the commission, because it impacts not only Richmond but it impacts all locally run ASAPs" in Virginia.

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