Black chamber money dispute may settle out

By SHARON BOND

© St. Petersburg Times, published March 29, 2000

ST. PETERSBURG -- A settlement appears likely in the dispute between former executive director Vincent Hopkins and the St. Petersburg Area Black Chamber of Commerce.

Denis deVlaming, Hopkins' attorney, said Hopkins is willing to stop his effort to collect nearly $9,000 he believes the chamber owes him in personal money he used to pay chamber bills. In return, deVlaming said, Hopkins wants the group to refrain from implying that there was something improper about his attempt to get reimbursed.

Hopkins also wants the "false accusations and insinuations that he misappropriated money (during his tenure) to cease," deVlaming said in a letter to George Rahdert, lawyer for the chamber. Rahdert also handles First Amendment cases for the St. Petersburg Times.

Specifically, Hopkins is bothered by the suggestion that $800 of chamber money was spent by him and cannot be accounted for. "Mr. Hopkins has ample documentation that the $800 was utilized for legitimate chamber purposes," deVlaming wrote.

Darryl Rouson, a St. Petersburg lawyer who is the current chairman of the board of the chamber, had no immediate comment on a possible settlement. Rahdert confirmed his client's wish to settle amicably.

Hopkins, one of the founders of the 2-year-old chamber, served as a part-time executive director. A search is under way for a full-time executive director.

Events occurred this way at a monthly chamber meeting last week: Rouson presented to the chamber an $8,975 bill from Hopkins. The chamber then voted to sever ties with Hopkins; Rouson and others suggested Hopkins misused chamber money, and that the group could ask the state attorney to review the case.

Hopkins has said that he has detailed documentation to show how the money was spent. He also has said he mingled his money and the chamber's, paying bills from personal funds when the chamber account was empty and then in some cases repaying himself when chamber money came in. When an accountant told him to stop, Hopkins said, he did.

When suggestions of mishandling chamber funds first surfaced last fall, Hopkins hired civil lawyers. When the chamber suggested last week it could go to the state attorney, Hopkins hired deVlaming, who handles criminal cases.

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