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Gooch’s charges, said his visit was made as “a friend. I told you what I had heard, and that I didn’t know if it was true or not.”
If it was not, he said he told Mr. Gooch, “tell me and I will do everything I can to contain it. Gossip is harmful. If it is true, it could be a problem — might be a criminal problem.”
Not being a tax lawyer, he continued, “I can’t give you advice.” He said that if Mr. Gooch did have a tax liability, his options included filing retroactively, or withdrawing as a registered voter in Virginia and resigning from the Town Council.
“No threat was made or implied,” Mr. Wickens said. “I never threatened you. I never leaked this. I told you that if it was not true I would try to put the fire out. If it were so, I told you I will help you . . . I’m sorry if my motives were suspect.
The issues before council were never discussed •
“I tried to deal with this as a gentleman,” Mr. Wickens continued. “I came to you in confidence. It had nothing to do with any issues before council, at least not in my mind. I’m’ sorry that we had to have this discussion in public.”
As Mr. Wickens finished his rebuttal, former mayor Newbill Miller rose from his seat in the audience. Mayor Dean Morehouse asked that the debate be limited to the two principles, but Mr. Miller spoke out.
“I am not the original source, but I did hear that you did not file taxes,” Mr. Miller said. “I had three choices: ignore it, report it to the state Commissioner of Revenue, or go to you privately.
“It was not meant to be mean spirited. It was what I would do to
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