Vinton-Shellsburg School Board President Pat Lyons is accused of committing several felony election violations and perjury in 2004, when he first ran for a seat on the school board.
V-S Superintendent Mary Jo Hainstock said Lyons submitted his resignation Monday night. He had called her earlier in the day to tell her about his legal situation.
Lyons, in 2004, according to a news release from the Vinton Police Department, was a convicted felon whose voting rights had not been restored. As such he was ineligible to vote or seek public office.
In 1996, Lyons was charged with stealing from his then-employer, Amerus Life between 1992 and 1996. The result of the case was a first degree theft conviction and the order to repay more than $180,000. Court records indicate that Lyons did repay that amount by 2006.
A 1996 article by the Des Moines register described Lyons as a "middle manager in the Springfield, Missouri market." Court Documents allege the thefts occurred from Oct. 21, 1992, to May 15, 1996.
In 2004, Lyons ran unopposed for the school board, and also voted in elections in March and September of that year, as well as in September 2005.
He has been charged with three counts of perjury of statement in connection with the voter registration and candidate affidavit forms, as well as three counts of election misconduct for allegedly casting votes while ineligible to do so. Lyons was eligible to vote when he ran for re-election in 2007 and 2010.
Lyons is the President of Ideal Industries of Vinton, and is also the registered agent on file with that company's corporation filings with the Iowa Secretary of State's Office.
Lyons turned himself in Monday at the Benton County Jail and was later released on a $5,000 bond. His initial appearance was set for tomorrow morning, 8:30 a.m. Thursday, April 20.
Resignation Letter
"It is with a heavy heart that I tender my resignation from the V-S Board of Education," wrote Lyons in his letter to Hainstock and the school board. "Recent events in my life will require significant attention and I do not wish for these to become a distraction to the important work and reputation of the board.
"This school district has provided wonderful opportunities in so many areas to three generations of my family. Best wishes and continued success as your work as stewards of our district's resources and our children's education. It has been an honor and a privilege serving with all of you."
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First of all -- as I have learned decades ago -- in this business, the messenger tends to get killed more than the message. If people don\'t want to actually face the truth, it is simpler to blame the person telling them the truth.
Second, while I understand that it might be a technological nightmare to be able to screen out the gutless who won\'t sign their own names, I had a strong policy at the Eagle (the one I founded), that no letter ever appeared in the paper without a name and a phone number I could verify the comments with.
Finally, as for the matter at hand, I will abstain, other than to say this. Any matter pertaining to those who make policy involving our children needs to be transparent and above reproach. If due diligence was not done -- as it should have been --seven years ago, I am glad to see it is being done now. If it proves not to be a major issue, great. If not, at least the public knows all of the facts.
You can do everything right in journalism, but somebody will still find fault or not support you. As I tell my son, \"that\'s the way the ball bounces.\"
Hang in there and keep providing the public with straightfoward information.
Are you guys a professional news organization or a wall for \"the meek\" to hide behind while they lob grenades? You put yourselves in a gray area when you publish letters signed by people who most likely have not written them. Although it is unlikely, the real Mark Fidrych could take legal action against you for publishing something with his name attached. Seriously.
Angie Holmes
Co-founder of the Vinton Eagle
I would also encourage readers to remember that \"innocent until proven guilty\" still stands here in the U.S., and until all the evidence has been presented and the verdict is reached, we don\'t actually know the \"facts\" of what happened. We know the charges, but we don\'t know the whole story. Nothing is certain or obvious yet.
I absolutely agree with holding people accountable for what they\'ve done. I don\'t agree with presuming that they\'ve done it before all the facts are in place.
likely, he didn\'t think about it. Pat deserves a break in this matter and I hope he gets it. Just having that picture of him published is punishment enough.
The notes that used to be here were only pointing out the facts, he didn\'t follow the law. Step back people, look at the facts, he broke the law...we used to punish people for doing that.