Civil trial underway to potentially remove Purcellville vice mayor

It’s never happened in the history of the commonwealth, but a civil trial is underway in Loudoun County to potentially remove an elected official from office by voter recall.

Purcellville Vice Mayor Ben Nett is accused of using his political position to personally benefit financially and also to retaliate against others. He maintains his innocence, but a group of voters gathered signatures to recall him from office.

These things usually end there, but not in this case.

“Corruption at its worst” is how one elected official referred to Nett’s actions.

For the last year, News4 has followed allegations of corruption against Nett, a former Purcellville police officer.

During opening arguments Monday, the prosecutor told the jury there will be evidence that the vice mayor knew he was going to be fired from the police department, so he scrambled behind the scenes to hire a consulting firm and instructed the consultant to recommend he be named chief.

Prosecutors say it would’ve been a $40,000 pay raise for a guy who was about to be fired.
It never happened though. In fact, the consultant himself reported it all because, according to the prosecutor, the consultant felt it was unethical.

The prosecutor alleges that it wasn’t just unethical, but it also violates Virginia’s Code of Ethics policies.

The defense says Nett did nothing improper, and the only issue here is a difference of political opinions between members of the Purcellville Town Council.

Though it might be operating like a criminal trial, it’s actually civil. If at the end of the trial, the jury finds the vice mayor did violate policies, he won’t face any jail time or fine — he would simply be removed from his seat as a councilmember, something that has never happened in Virginia before.

The jury is expected to get the case to begin deliberations on Wednesday.