Brother: Tom Wheeler wanted to leave Iowa Film Office

by Rod Boshart/SourceMedia News for the Cedar Rapids Gazette, August 23, 2011, 5:59 pm

DES MOINES – David Wheeler testified Tuesday he advised his younger brother in 2009 to “hold on” as manager of Iowa’s Film Office given the tough economy even though he was swamped with what defense attorneys are portraying as a burgeoning though poorly structured state tax-credit program for which he was not adequately trained or staffed to run.
“I remember specifically writing to him: ‘Tom, it’s tough out there. I would hold on.’ In retrospect, I wish he wouldn’t have taken my advice,” he told a nine-woman, three-man Polk County jury during the second week of Tom Wheeler’s trial on charges of felony misconduct in office, first-degree fraudulent practices and conspiracy related to his work at the film office prior to his September 2009 termination.
David Wheeler, a Norwalk native who now lives in Spruce Pine, N.C., and operates an event management company, said he had several “chats” with his brother about leaving the post in the Iowa Department of Economic Development to pursue other options, but he told Tom to keep his job for the time being due to the tight employment market.
“He was very upset. He was working his tail off,” said David Wheeler, who struggled to keep his composure during about four minutes of testimony. “Our father had died the year before and he never really had time to deal with that, and the bottom fell out and here we are today.”
David Wheeler told jurors he is paying for his brother’s defense because “Tom’s been out of work and he’s got nothing left.”
The testimony came on a day when prosecutors rested their case after showing a brief video of Tom Wheeler making a presentation to California moviemakers touting Iowa’s film tax credit program as half-price filmmaking that provided a 25 percent tax credit for production expenditures made in Iowa and a 25 percent tax credit for investors for projects that spent at least $100,000 in Iowa.
Prosecutors have painted Wheeler as “an inside man” who allegedly helped filmmakers fraudulently obtain state tax credits for bogus claims, inflated expenses and unqualified purchases. They contend he used his position in the film office to help filmmakers improperly benefit from the tax credit program by knowingly altering and substituting public documents, and by knowingly approved false and inflated expenses submitted to the film office.
Defense attorney Angela Campbell worked to dispel that image by calling witnesses who praised the former film office manager as friendly, professional, ethical and honest.
“I felt that he was a straight forward, honest guy,” said Joel Sadilek, a former Cedar Rapids resident who works as a movie line producer in California.
Sadilek said Wheeler never suggested anything untoward to skirt the program’s rules during the two films he worked on in Iowa, but he conceded during cross examination by prosecutors that some of the rental costs approved by Wheeler for other projects that qualified for tax credits were excessive – examples such as $450 to rent two shovels for six weeks or $250 for a rake.
Among the six defense witnesses to testify Tuesday was Donald Schnitker, a special agent of the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation, who helped probe the film office operations after former Gov. Chet Culver suspended the tax-credit program when allegations surfaced of lax oversight, sloppy bookkeeping and questionable expenditures that included two luxury vehicles that were taken to California for personal use. After the scandal broke, six people lost their jobs within the economic development agency, including Wheeler.
Campbell produced a bank statement seized by DCI agents and asked Schnitker: “Sir, can you tell me where in that exhibit it demonstrates that Mr. Wheeler was getting paid on the side, getting a bribe or otherwise improperly benefitting from the film tax credit program?”
“There’s no evidence of that in this bank account,” Schnitker replied. He also said DCI agents were unable to locate any other bank accounts held by Wheeler.
“So, either Tom Wheeler is so talented at hiding bank accounts or he doesn’t have another one,” Campbell noted.
“Correct,” the DCI agent said.
Campbell also talked about 32 boxes of materials investigators seized from the film office and asked Schnitker: “Sir, can you tell me where in those boxes you found evidence that Mr. Wheeler was improperly benefitting from his work at the Iowa Film Office?”
“Monetarily benefitting?” he replied.
“Yes,” Campbell said.
“That wasn’t found,” Schnitker testified.