A third special prosecutor has been appointed to the cases of two Williamsburg cases involving the theft of construction materials in part because a defense attorney objected to the first two Commonwealth’s Attorneys assigned.
The new appointment of King William County Commonwealth’s Attorney Matthew Kite to the two cases comes after both Williamsburg-James City County Commonwealth’s Attorney Nate Green and Hampton Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney Shakita Massey asked to recuse themselves from the cases against contractor James Jenkins and City of Williamsburg Planning Commission Chairman Demetrios Florakis.
Florakis is accused of embezzling from Courthouse Construction Inc. — whom he partnered with on a project called City Lofts, which turned a hotel into apartments — and using materials on a project not associated with CCI. He is facing one felony charge for the alleged incident.
Jenkins is accused of stealing the construction materials, returning them to Lowe’s and then repurchasing them at a significantly lower price, a criminal complaint against Jenkins indicates.
Green stepped down from the cases in September after Jenkins’ Defense Attorney Patricia Nagel accused him and Williamsburg Police Investigator Winfield Rose of illegally recording an interview between Rose, Nagel and Jenkins without the consent of Nagel and Jenkins.
Although Green said the interview was lawfully recorded, he wrote in a September motion he felt it improper for him to act and asked Williamsburg-James City County Circuit Court Judge Michael McGinty to appoint a new prosecutor to the case against Jenkins. Green filed a similar motion in the case against Florakis.
Hampton’s Shakita Massey was then appointed, but conflicts of interest between her and Florakis — Massey works in the same office as Sheree Konstantinou, who is married to Florakis’ first cousin — caused Nagel and Massey to file motions asking Massey to be recused.
Nagel also filed a motion to have McGinty recuse himself, claiming he would likely rule in Florakis’ favor because his attorney, state Sen. Tommy Norment — the senate majority leader whose district represents part of the Historic Triangle — is “largely responsible” for McGinty’s appointment to the bench.
McGinty was appointed as Williamsburg-James City County Circuit Court Judge in May 2012 by a 38-0 vote in the state Senate after being nominated by the Virginia Courts of Justice Committee, which consists of 15 senators who are responsible for nominating judges, among other duties.
At a Nov. 13 hearing, Massey told McGinty despite concerns from the complainants — a married couple who partnered with Florakis on the construction project — regarding the Konstantinous’ close relationship with the Florakises, she was ethically in a position to continue prosecuting both cases despite what she requested in her motion.
During that hearing, McGinty denied motions to recuse Massey and himself from the cases.
On Dec. 5, Nagel and Massey both filed motions asking the judge to reconsider his ruling to deny their motions for recusal. Massey explained in her motion she wanted to recant her Nov. 13 statement and step down at the insistence of the complainants, who strongly opposed the Hampton Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office’s involvement in the cases.
She included in her motion an email from one of the complainants, who said John Konstantinou, Florakis’ cousin and a lawyer in Hampton Roads, approached Green to “discourage him from filing felony charges against Mr. Florakis.”
The complainant also stated Konstantinou was the best man at Florakis’s wedding, and the Florakises are godparents to Konstantinou’s son.
Nagel asked the judge to reconsider his rulings, saying in her Dec. 5 motion McGinty insisted on holding a hearing Nov. 13 to give Massey a chance to “change her position in favor of Mr. Norment’s request” to keep the Hampton office on the case.
“The court’s willingness to go to such great lengths to keep the Hampton office in the case at Mr. Norment’s behest despite all evidence showing the Hampton office should be recused, including the office’s request to be recused, renders the judge’s impartiality readily questionable,” Nagel wrote in the Dec. 5 motion.
The judge granted Massey’s motion to recuse herself at a hearing Friday, concurring with her decision that it is improper for her to act given the Hampton Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office’s relationship to Florakis.
Chris Page, one of Florakis’ attorneys, objected to the judge’s ruling, saying the judge had “hit the entire reset button on this” by bringing a third special prosecutor on to the cases.
Page voiced his concern regarding Nagel possibly filing a motion to have the new special prosecutor — Kite, the King William County Commonwealth’s Attorney — recused after Nagel told McGinty she opposed the new appointment because Kite had previously practiced law in front of McGinty.
In an Oct. 24 motion, Nagel requested the court “avoid appointing a special prosecutor in the Hampton Roads or Tidewater area,” where Florakis’ attorney Norment serves as a state senator representing the third district.
Both parties will convene in Williamsburg-James City County Circuit Court in February for a motion regarding the recorded interview between Rose, Nagel and Jenkins. Jenkins’ jury trial is set for March 30, while Florakis’ jury trial is scheduled for 9 a.m. April 29.
Related Coverage:
- Attorney in Williamsburg Thefts Cases Asks for Reconsideration of Ruling on Judge, Prosecutor Recusal
- Judge Overrules Defense Attorney’s Motions in City Lofts Thefts Cases
- New Hampton Prosecutor Assigned to City Lofts Theft Cases Requests Recusal
- New Prosecutor Assigned for Cases Against Planning Commission Chairman, Contractor
- Commonwealth’s Attorney Requests Recusal City Lofts Grand Larceny Case
- Judge: Search Did Not Violate City Planning Commission Chairman’s Constitutional Rights
- Court Documents: Stolen Construction Materials Found at Property Owned by City Planning Commission Chairman
- City Planning Commission Chairman Indicted on Embezzlement Charge
