Jon Creighton Sentencing Memo

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE WESTERN DISTRICT OF NORTH CAROLINA

ASHEVILLE DIVISION
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA ) Case No. 1:18-CR-88

)
DEFENDANT JON CREIGHTON’S
v. ) SENTENCING MEMORANDUM
)
JON E. CREIGHTON )
I. Introduction
In January 2018, Jon Creighton had a choice to make. He had learned that both the
State Bureau of Investigation and the Federal Bureau of Investigation were investigating
longtime powerful Buncombe County Manager Wanda Greene. But the rumors and
media reports on the investigation did not mention the only transgression he was involved
in: taking travel benefits from engineering consultant Joe Wiseman.
So Jon’s choice was either to stay quiet and see if the investigators eventually found
his misconduct with Wiseman, or instead help the SBI and FBI by divulging what he and
others had done.
II. Extraordinary Substantial Assistance to Government Investigation
It was a real choice. It appeared that Greene had participated in several other
completely unrelated criminal schemes, and it was possible that the travel misconduct
would go overlooked.
Jon hired counsel, discussed the pros and cons, and made the decision to come
Case 1:18-cr-00088-RJC-WCM Document 67 Filed 08/13/19 Page 1 of 34

forward, confess his role, and help the investigators and U.S. Attorney’s Office as best he
could. That’s what he did in January 2018, and that’s what he’s done ever since.
Creighton gathered credit card and hotel records, as well as text messages,
photographs, and handwritten and electronic documents, and compiled a detailed
chronology of all the trips that Joe Wiseman paid for, and who was on each trip.
Creighton’s counsel then asked for a meeting with the Asst. U.S. Attorney and the
case agents. On Monday, January 29, 2018, counsel met with the federal prosecutor, the
lead SBI agent and the lead FBI agent in Asheville. The federal team was not sure what
to expect.
Here’s what they got: for two and a half hours, Creighton’s counsel talked,
methodically going through a detailed chronology of the trips to Napa Valley, Key West,
Phoenix and other places that Wiseman paid for Creighton, Wanda Greene and Asst.
County Manager Mandy Stone from about 2013 through 2017. Counsel divulged the
arrangement: Wiseman paid for flights, hotel rooms, dinners and other expenses for
Creighton, Greene and Stone, and in exchange Creighton and Greene kept giving
engineering and consulting contracts to Wiseman’s company, Environmental
Infrastructure Consulting (EIC).
Counsel explained that in September 2013, Greene told Creighton that she wanted
to start traveling, and Jon should get Joe Wiseman to “line things up.” Counsel read from
strings of text messages between and among Wiseman, Stone, Greene and Creighton about
the trips, corroborating they occurred and who was on which trip. These messages
included texts that showed:

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 Greene and Stone knew that Wiseman’s credit card was on file at the hotel in
case “you want something to eat or drink.”
 Talk between Greene, Creighton and Wiseman planning a trip to Jackson Hole,
Wyoming.
 Message from Stone to Greene and Creighton that the credit card number (of
Wiseman) that Greene had given her to make reservations was not working.
Counsel came with show-and-tell documents to back up the chronology, including
“smoking gun documents,” such as:
 a piece of paper Greene had given Creighton showing her wish list of travel for
2015-17:

To provide corroboration, counsel for Creighton then read from credit card bills that
showed charges corresponding to some of the dates on the list.
Creighton’s counsel explained that in order to make it easier for Creighton and
Greene to check into their hotel rooms when Wiseman had not yet arrived, Greene sent
Creighton to the personnel department to achieve this: a Buncombe County ID that had Joe
Wiseman’s name on it, but Creighton’s photo, and vice versa.
Counsel showed a photo that Creighton had taken of the two IDs a few years earlier:

At this January 29, 2018 meeting, counsel for Creighton also gave the agents images
of personal checks that Wiseman had written to Creighton to pay for travel expenses.
The case agents were stunned. And happy.
Although government counsel and case agents remained coy, it was clear that even
if they had already been looking into the “travelgate,” they certainly had no idea of its full
extent and all the participants.
Still at the January 29, 2018 meeting, counsel for Creighton explained that in the
summer of 2017, Jon’s conscience had gotten to him, and he repaid Wiseman for the travel
gifts he received. (See infra Section IV.B.) Creighton asked Wiseman to total up the
amounts he had spent, and in response, Wiseman created an excel spreadsheet listing all of
these – including expenses of Greene and Stone – which he gave to Creighton on a thumb
drive. Here was the motherlode: Wiseman’s own accounting of all the money he spent on
trips for these county officials. The agents asked Creighton’s counsel to search for the
actual thumb drive containing the electronic copy of the spreadsheet.
At the January meeting, counsel also turned over to the agents copies of five
personal checks Creighton wrote to Wiseman’s company in the summer of 2017 to quietly
pay him back for the travel expenses Creighton had received, per the spreadsheet.
Wiseman had cashed each of these. Here is one of the checks:

Finally, with some pause (defense lawyers don’t like to suggest to agents how to do
their jobs), counsel suggested places where Creighton thought the agents should look for
confirming evidence: Wiseman’s credit card records, Greene’s Marriott Rewards records
and frequent flier accounts, etc.
Both agents asked many follow-up questions, which Creighton’s counsel wrote
down and promised to discuss with him and respond. They reiterated they wanted
Creighton to look to see if he could find the thumb drive he received from Wiseman. They
asked if Creighton remembered who in the personnel department took the photos for the
fake IDs, and they asked Creighton to try to find the actual switched photo IDs. The
agents asked many other questions, and counsel made a list.
Let’s pause for a moment, specifically the moment of this January 29, 2018 proffer.
At sentencing, the Court should focus on the key timing of Jon Creighton’s assistance.
See U.S.S.G. 5K1.1(a)(5). Creighton was taking a huge risk that he was inculpating
himself in something that the investigators might never find. He knew that once the
proffer began, a criminal case would almost surely be made against him. But Jon had
made the hard decision that he needed to acknowledge and admit his conduct. He hoped

that his information, along with the documentary evidence, would save the government
time, expense, and energy in getting to the bottom of the travel misconduct. But most of
all he wanted to come clean to the people of Buncombe County for whom he had worked
for 34 years.
Judges and prosecutors sometimes say to recalcitrant defendants, “You only regret
that you were caught.” That’s not the case here. Jon Creighton regretted what he did and
turned himself in.
Back to the cooperation timeline. Over the next few weeks, in February 2018,
Creighton answered each of the agent’s list of questions, and his counsel communicated
the answers to the SBI agent. Creighton spent hours searching through boxes and found
the actual thumb drive he had received from Wiseman. Counsel delivered the thumb drive
to the SBI, and it became crucial electronic evidence against Wiseman. Creighton also
found one of the actual “switched IDs,” and gave it to the SBI agent. Creighton gave the
agents the name of the county personnel department employee who made the IDs, and the
agents confirmed it. Creighton also found a credit card that Wiseman had given him and
turned it over.
Creighton gave to the agents copies of three checks that Wiseman wrote to
Creighton to pay for travel expenses. Two of the checks were from Wiseman’s company,
and one from his personal account. In addition to being clear proof of payments by
Wiseman, these checks likely saved the government the time of trying to find the location
and account numbers, and surely led to subpoenas for those records from the banks.
In May 2018, the government used the information produced by Creighton to apply
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for a search warrant of Joe Wiseman’s home and business, EIC. The application was
granted, and investigators seized computers during the search on which Wiseman kept
detailed records of the travel expenses and gifts he had given the Buncombe County
officials. The government now had Wiseman cold, thanks to Creighton’s information.
Section 5K1.1(a)(1) includes the evaluation of the “usefulness” of a defendant’s
assistance. The government used Creighton’s information to get a search warrant that led
to significant evidence against Wiseman.
On July 24, 2018, the government interviewed Creighton at length, in preparation
for its upcoming indictment of Greene, Stone and Wiseman. At the SBI office, the case
agents and prosecutor focused their questions on the evolution of the relationship between
Wiseman and county officials, and on trip-by-trip questions of who went where and when.
This was a marathon 4.5-hour session, and Creighton was honest and forthright throughout.
Over the last week of July and the first week of August, 2018, the SBI agent made
multiple requests for additional text messages and items, which Creighton produced. For
example, the SBI agent was trying to confirm one specific trip to Napa that seemed to be
indicated on credit cards, and Creighton found text messages that confirmed the trip. The
SBI agent indicated she had been unable to confirm it with other records, so these texts
were what she needed.
When the indictment came down on August 7, 2018, Creighton and his counsel
examined the Indictment paragraph by paragraph, and believe that at least 75% of the
factual allegations were divulged to the case agents by Creighton during his cooperation
from January to August 2018.

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Section 5K1.1(a)(2) directs the Court to examine “the truthfulness, completeness,
and reliability of any information or testimony provided by the defendant.” Throughout
his cooperation, Jon Creighton has been truthful and complete, and the prosecution team
has confirmed his information was reliable. The case agents have corroborated his
interview statements, and the prosecutor used much of this information, both to obtain the
Wiseman search warrant, and in the grand jury to obtain the “travelgate” indictments of
Greene, Stone and Wiseman.
On September 19, 2018, Buncombe County sued Greene, Creighton and others in
Superior Court seeking civil damages. Creighton then did a rare thing in civil lawsuits,
especially for someone under indictment: he agreed to sit down with counsel for the County
and answer any and all questions they asked. This meeting in January 2019 lasted several
hours, and counsel for the County has indicated Jon’s information was very helpful. Jon
acknowledged his misconduct again and reached a civil settlement which he has paid in
full to the County. (Therefore no restitution is due by Creighton.)
Many times over the past year and a half, the SBI and FBI agents have asked follow-
up questions of Creighton, and he has always answered them as best he could.
On April 17, 2019, counsel for the government asked to interview Creighton again
about other persons who were subjects of investigation. Creighton prepared for this
interview, and on May 1, 2019 was interviewed by the SBI for an hour about these
additional subjects.

III. Evaluation of Substantial Assistance
This memorandum has already addressed some of the factors the Court should
weigh under Section 5K1.1.
The nature and extent of the assistance Jon Creighton provided was extraordinary.
He not only described the specific offense conduct by himself and others, he researched
and brought to the agents actual physical and digital evidence to prove it. He worked hard
at this assistance, spending dozens of hours finding documents and items, and being
interviewed. Whenever the case agents asked his lawyer a follow-up question, Jon
responded within a day or two.
Jon also divulged everything that happened – he held nothing back, even though
many facts were damning to himself. He was complete.
Furthermore, the government was able to subsequently corroborate the information
Creighton gave them. The government has also noted to defense counsel that unlike many
who tell the truth only gradually, Creighton was truthful to the case agents right from the
start.
The Court will of course take into consideration the government’s evaluation of the
assistance rendered. Throughout Jon’s cooperation, both the case agents and the lead
prosecutor have told counsel that Creighton’s early, detailed, and continuing assistance was
astounding, has saved the government great time, and has been key to their ongoing
investigations.
Each of the three co-defendants subsequently pled guilty, which is proof that
Creighton’s information and cooperation was effective. And at least two of the co-
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defendants turned and cooperated with the government, providing information about other
targets of investigations unrelated to Creighton. Jon has caused dominoes to fall, and
should get great credit for his efforts.
IV. Additional Grounds for Departure and/or Variance from the Sentencing Guidelines
A. Section 5K2.16 Policy Statement regarding Voluntary Disclosure of Offense.
As detailed above, Creighton disclosed his offense conduct before he knew whether the
investigators knew about it.
Creighton made this decision even though counsel informed him it was possible that
the investigators would find only Greene’s other unrelated offense conduct. (See Section
II, supra, for a more detailed description of this chronology.)
Section 5K2.16 applies only “. . . if such offense was unlikely to have been discovered
otherwise. . . .” The government is in a better position to inform the Court on this issue.
But even if these criteria fit imperfectly, his early voluntary disclosure should be grounds
for a downward variance.
B. Efforts at Restitution Before Investigation
In June and July 2017, Creighton had second thoughts about his conduct, and tried
to quietly make amends. He informed the contractor, Joe Wiseman, that he wanted to pay
back all the travel-related expenses that Wiseman had paid. Creighton asked Wiseman to
compile a list of these expenses, and Wiseman did so, giving Creighton a thumb drive with
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1
an Excel spreadsheet of all the expenses.
Creighton took the spreadsheet that Wiseman had compiled, and tried to figure out
which expenses had benefitted Creighton.
In August, 2017, Creighton then wrote and sent to Wiseman five personal checks
totaling $72,470. See Exhibit A, copies of the checks. Creighton asked Wiseman to
refrain from submitting several invoices for work completed to the County. Creighton
then told his assistant at the County to not pay several invoices for work that Wiseman (via
his company EIC) had done for the County. This in effect would save the county $72,470.
Date Check Amt.

8/1/17 $18,500
8/1/17 $11,000
8/1/17 $26,530
8/1/17 $4,900
8/30/17 $11,540
Total: $72,470
Admittedly, this method did not inform the County of the misdeeds. But many
months before the government discovered the travel misconduct, Creighton was trying to
make amends.
C. Extraordinary Acceptance of Responsibility
In October 2018, Creighton further showed his remorse and his commitment to taking
responsibility for his conduct by refiling his tax returns for 2014, 2015, 2016 and 2017 to
1
As noted above, Creighton later produced this electronic spreadsheet to the case agents, and it became a
key source and roadmap for the ongoing investigation.
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reflect the travel expenses he received from Wiseman.
Creighton incurred the expense of hiring a tax accountant to calculate the taxes,
penalties and interest due for each re-filed year, and paid these amounts at the same time
as he re-filed:
Additional Amended Tax, Interest and Penalties Paid
Year New Tax Owed Interest Penalties Total
2014 4,546 504 955 6,005
2015 6,440 767 966 8,082
2016 9,518 589 857 10,964
2017 3,055 78 92 3,225
Grand Total $28,276

Paid:
D. Statutory Diminishment of North Carolina Retirement Benefits
By taking the travel benefits in the final few years of his public service, Jon
Creighton inflicted upon himself a significant reduction of his state retirement benefits.
In 2012, the North Carolina legislature passed a law that changed whether and how
felons can receive state retirement benefits. Under N.C.G.S. § 135-18.10A and § 135-
4(ii), upon his conviction of this felony, Creighton lost credit for any contributions he made
after December 1, 2012. The state retirement system has re-calculated his retirement
benefit, and has reduced it by $4,217.19 per month.
If Creighton lives to age 83, which is his life expectancy under North Carolina’s
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current actuary table (see N.C.G.S. § 8-46), then he will have cost himself $860,306.76
between the years 2018 – 2035.
As with many retirement systems, the amount of monthly pension depends mostly
on how much money the worker made in the last five years of employment. For Jon
Creighton, those were his best-compensated years, and thus he punished himself by
eliminating those years from the calculation.
V. History and Characteristics of Jon Creighton
Jon was born and grew up in Asheville. The friends and family who have known
him since childhood all call him “Jonnie”. His father was the longtime manager of a local
A&P grocery store. His mother was a registered nurse, and also worked as a clerk for the
national weather service.
Jon and Pat Creighton have been married for 38 years. They have resided since
1979 in the home that Jon’s parents raised him. Both Jon and Pat work on a large
vegetable garden each summer, and Jon has a workshop where he makes household and
equipment repairs. They never had children and lived a modest lifestyle. Creighton is a
frugal man. In his more than fifty years of driving, Jon has had a grand total of five
automobiles. He has a rule that always amused his wife Pat: if he must call the tow truck
twice in one year, then it’s time to retire the car.
Creighton worked in public service all but two years of his adult life. As with many
people who work in the same job for dozens of years, Jon’s identity and self became
intertwined with his working life.

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In order for the Court to have a full understanding of the context of Creighton’s life
and work, and the period of time of the offense conduct, it is important to understand the
jobs, responsibilities, and work ethic that Creighton had over his more than 34 years
working for Buncombe County.
A. Evolution of the job
Creighton began working for Buncombe County in 1982 and was promoted to the
Director of Planning and Development in 1985 at the age of 32. The tasks and scope of
Jon Creighton’s work as Planning Director evolved and expanded over time. At first,
when he moved into the job his work mostly involved small construction projects of less
than $5 million, and only two townships in Buncombe had zoning regulations. During his
early tenure, the County took over erosion control from the State, created a water shed
zone, and established many other regulatory functions of a slowly growing county and its
townships.
But beginning in the late 1990s, Buncombe County grew fast and strong.
Creighton oversaw and supervised all county building construction and renovation
projects.
Some were smaller projects, although county commissioners and Jon did not think
of them as small, but rather as important to the neighborhood people who used them.
For example, one of these smaller projects was the new solid waste transfer station.
The county had many years of capacity remaining at the landfill but was not gaining
operating income from the landfill because many haulers couldn’t or wouldn’t use the old
transfer station, because of long lines and/or the haulers had trash that wouldn’t go through
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a push pit. Haulers instead went to the private vendor (Waste Management) transfer
station. Creighton oversaw construction of a new public transfer station that allowed the
county to receive more garbage, which translated into more revenue. The county is
receiving more trash income and can buy the equipment it needs and have money to build
the next landfill cell.
The county built the Enka Sports Park over 20 years ago when soccer was just
becoming popular. Now it’s in very high demand, has walking trails and a disc golf course,
and is the county’s most used public facility.
The two largest building projects that Creighton oversaw were the courthouse
addition/safety renovation, and the roof/life safety renovations to Asheville High School.
The courthouse addition and renovation gave new life to a grand 1920’s building. The
Asheville High project was special to Jon since he was a graduate. It was designed by
Douglas Ellington, who also did city hall and the First Baptist Church downtown. The
county spent $25 million on the high school renovation, and the facility is expected to last
more than 50 years.
Other projects were large and sprawling, and some citizens and politicians were
concerned that costs would run away. But Creighton gained a reputation for onsite visits,
and for bringing the projects to completion on time and on budget.
Creighton helped usher in unprecedented and nearly continuous growth in all parts
of Buncombe County. A graphic showing many of the projects and their locations is
attached as Exhibit B.
B. Juggling Planning Director and Asst. County Manager Duties

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In 1997 Creighton was promoted to Asst. County Manager, while still keeping his
full duties as Planning Director. The two jobs involved preparing for many meetings, and
then attending or conducting the meetings. For example, Creighton participated in:
 Two Planning Board meetings per month.
 Two county commissioners meetings per month, plus a pre-meeting for each.
 At least one construction meeting per month, and if there were multiple projects
going that meant multiple meetings each month.
 A land conservation board meeting each month.
 A senior staff meeting every Monday morning and department head meeting
monthly.
 A Board of Adjustment meeting monthly and a Technical Review Committee
meeting monthly. At TRC meetings, officials discussed matters that were
coming before the planning board and made sure the fire marshal, erosion
control, stormwater, 911 addressing, and senior planning staff had all signed off
on the project plans.
Creighton usually convened a monthly planning staff meeting to discuss problems
the county was having with ordinances that needed to be tweaked.
In his role as Asst. County Manager, Creighton supervised the following
departments, and met with them at least once a month:
 Permits and Inspections
 Air Quality
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 Soil and Water
 Cooperative Extension
 Landfill
 Parks and Greenways
Jon spent much time on the phone answering citizen and politician complaints,
including simple complaints about neighbors such as junk cars in the yard, cutting trees, or
muddy water coming off the property when it rained. He tried to deal with each person
with patience and grace.
Creighton handled all the RFP’s/RFQ’s for projects and services, and led all the
interview processes for these. On construction projects, Jon approved all monthly pay
requests and change orders.
Richard Norejko worked alongside Jon for 34 years, and describes how Creighton
was instrumental in much of the progress of business recruitment and public works
construction during his tenure:
In that span of time I witnessed his fiscal conservativeness toward spending

taxpayer money. Just one example was a well-known fact that employees of
the planning department would have to search the county surplus warehouse
for office desk, chairs etc., rather than purchase anew from any retail
supplier.
Creighton's other civic highlights include supervising the construction and
renovation of a new courthouse, jail, public safety building and social service
building. These projects benefitted untold number of construction workers
and local businesses.
He also was involved in the recruitment of private businesses such as
Linamar corporation and General Electric, which employ hundreds of county
citizens.
Letter of Richard Norejko CMS, Exhibit C.
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Prospective economic development projects came through Creighton for possible
county incentives. Some of these were small like Highland Brewing where Jon
recommended an incentive of $10,000 and some were very large and complex where the
county gave millions of dollars in incentives plus built a 100,000 square foot building and
leased it back to General Electric as part of recruiting a plant to land hundreds of jobs.
Creighton was responsible for the presentations to the commissioners and at public
hearings.
Another important task that Creighton performed as Asst. County Manager every
two years was to help develop and make the presentation to Moody’s and Standard & Poor
rating agencies so the County could achieve good bond ratings and borrow money. This
was a tremendous amount of work that took many hours. About eight years ago the
County was upgraded to AAA bond rating for the first time, which was an important
milestone.
Jon really liked his job. He found it challenging, exhausting and rewarding. The
citizenry of Buncombe County is not quiet and docile. Mountain people. Creighton
enjoyed these interactions with citizens who had comments, complaints and constructive
criticism.
C. You can judge a person on how his adversaries describe him
The businessmen and women in Buncombe County were not exactly “adversaries”
of Creighton and the Planning Department, but they were certainly often at odds. One of
Creighton’s important job tasks was to plan and regulate building and development through
county codes and regulations. Another task was to oversee projects that were being done
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by contractors for the county. Over and over again, this led to contentious public meetings
over proposed regulations, or tense conferences when a contractor was off-task somehow.
Yet several prominent local businesspeople have written letters to the Court describing
Jon’s character and reputation.
Brett Cannady has lived in Buncombe County all his life and was an owner of a
family construction business until 2015. He writes:
Throughout the years we found ourselves working for Buncombe County/Jon

on several projects. We worked as a team with Jon when a project took an
unexpected turn such as was the case on a sink-hole project some fifteen
years ago. Jon was professional and would help solve unexpected problems
in a levelheaded way. We would try to present the best ways to deal with the
problem, and together we would decide on the most efficient resolution to
the problem. It was for this reason that we had a high interest in bidding
county projects. While Jon had Buncombe County's best interest at heart, we
felt he was also fair to us, the contractor, as to our contract obligations.
Letter of Brett Cannady, Exhibit D.
Ed Holmes is an Asheville businessman who had 13 years of experience interacting
with Jon Creighton. He writes, in part:
Our firm, Ed Holmes and Associates Land Surveyors, has had a working
relationship with Buncombe County for a number of years, and we have
worked under Jon’s direction or alongside Jon on projects such as AB Tech’s
Asheville and Enka Campuses, the Buncombe County Landfill, GE Aviation,
Old Dominion Trucking, and Volvo/Linamar, among others. In all the years
of our working relationship, I have noted Jon’s diligence in being involved
in every aspect of each project, knowing the details of plans proposed and
submitted, keeping up with budgets, and ensuring that consultants and
contractors stayed on task and on budget. . . .
Letter of Ed Holmes, Exhibit E.
Holmes also served for three years on the Buncombe County Planning and
Zoning Board, and this gave him a different vantage point to view Creighton’s work.
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Holmes writes:
Just as in our typical work/client relationship, I always noted how Jon did his
very best to listen to County Commissioners, listen to land development
advocates and anti-land development advocates, listen to the Board and
expert advisors, and then work to meld information together to craft draft
policy.
Id.
Scott Hughes had similar impressions of Creighton. Hughes is a local
businessman and accountant who served for many years on boards and committees of
Buncombe County, eventually becoming chair of the Planning Board. Hughes writes:
That service was during a somewhat contentious time during which

Buncombe County adopted countywide zoning and went on through several
years of implementation and revision to those ordinances. While the
citizens were often opinionated and widespread on their appreciation for
zoning or lack thereof, the ordinances ultimately were adopted after many
months of discussion, public meetings and a multi‐year land use planning
process. Jon was instrumental in that process and I believe saw himself as
the person in leadership responsible for building consensus and addressing
fears among the citizens. He took that task seriously and professionally and
at times he paid a high price by being criticized publicly and in the press and
at times was even vilified by factions who opposed the process and zoning
in general. Jon remained gracious and was adamant that these folks had as
much right to their beliefs and opinions as did those in support of the process.
Letter of J. Scott Hughes, Exhibit F.
Michael Plemmons is the longtime executive director of the Council for
Independent Business Owners (CIBO), located in Asheville. The group often had
natural conflicts with regulation by the Planning Department and Board. Plemmons
writes, in part:
In working with Jon in this professional capacity, he would often appear

before our organization either at our monthly issues meetings or in the larger
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general membership meetings to report on possible actions by Buncombe
County. Many of these meetings were often contentious; however Jon was
always willing to appear before our group.
Letter of J. Michael Plemmons, Exhibit G.
Jim Young is a Project Director at a locally owned construction company, and he
interacted with Creighton over many years as a project manager. Young describes his
impressions of working with Jon:
During the course of these projects I came to know and respect Jon for his
leadership and relentless commitment to Buncombe County. From my
perspective Jon always did what was in the best interest of Buncombe
County; and the citizens of our county continue to reap the benefits of his
and his staff's commitment and efforts to move our county forward. I can
honestly tell you that in all my dealings with Mr. Creighton on a daily basis
over the span of numerous years and successful projects; regardless of recent
events, that Jon never once exhibited anything other than professional and
honest behavior rooted in his desire to move Buncombe County forward.
Letter of Jim Young, Exhibit H.
The Court should note that it took some courage by the local businessmen who did
contracting work for the County to write a letter on behalf of Jon Creighton – since this
case involves Creighton accepting gifts from a contractor, the letter could prompt the
government to investigate, or the public to speculate. But each businessman and woman
felt strongly enough about Creighton to take that risk.

2
D. You can judge a person on how he cares for elderly parents
Jon Creighton conscientiously and without fanfare cared for his mother and father
2
You can easily judge the character of a man by how he treats those who can do nothing
for him. – Johann Wolfgang von Goethe.
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as they became old and frail.
Dr. Brison Robertson first met Jon about 25-30 years ago when he would
accompany his father for health care visits. Dr. Robertson has not seen or talked to Jon
for over three years, but when he learned of Jon’s offense, he decided to write a letter to
the Court, which includes this passage:
Jon was also a licensed electrician and during off time from his county job
he would take on various projects employing his father as his helper. This
was a very special time for his advanced age father with failing health and
they continued this for several years until his father’s death. They were
quite the comedic team. Following this I would see Jon when he would
accompany his mother to most of her visits to our office and through several
hospitalizations and eventual nursing home car. She was a lovable rascal
and [I] remember him having to fetch her off the streets of Asheville at night
after she slipped out of Mission hospital after dark against medical advice.
She was frequently a misbehaving patient, but I never saw any anger,
embarrassment, or frustration out of Jon, just a calm, caring sense of humor
about her ordeals.
Letter of Brison Robertson, M.D., Exhibit I.
Pat Henke was a co-worker and friend of Jon’s wife, Pat Creighton. Over the years,
Henke helped the Creightons and Jon’s mother in their side hobby of selling jewelry at
fairs and festivals. Henke writes:
During these festivals I also had the opportunity to observe his relationship
with his mother. Jon's devotion to his mother was certainly a testament to
Jon's character. His mother was a woman not to be reckoned with. As she
aged, she became more difficult in her demeanor and was struggling with
health issues. Jon was kind and soft spoken when speaking with her and never
demonstrated frustration in her presence. He was completely available for his
mom especially when she was living alone in her own home.
Letter of Pat Henke, Exhibit J.
Stephanie Morgan is a former social worker who lived next door to Jon’s mother,
23

and became good friends with Jon and Pat Creighton. Morgan writes:
I met Jon about 17 years ago; he was my elderly next door neighbor's son,
and had grown up in that house, under chestnut trees that his father planted.
After his father's death, he visited his mother often, taking care of her with
graciousness and humor, and assuring her well-being by also partnering with
my husband and me as extra sets of eyes and ears.
Letter of Stephanie Morgan, Exhibit K.
E. You can judge a person on what kind of boss he or she is
Many people who worked under Creighton for Buncombe County have written
letters to the Court to explain what kind of person he is. Two recurring themes stand out
from these letters.
First, Jon was a mentor who wanted his employees to flourish. Second, Creighton
understood that workers have family lives as well. Jon, perhaps before it became more
commonplace in America, allowed employees flexibility to attend to family tasks, while
still demanding good performance.
Leigh DeForth worked under Creighton for 10 years, and describes how he taught
his employees to form a steady and clear worth ethic in order to provide good service to
the county citizens:
. . . [W]e all worked together not just during the workday but also as he
diligently sought to answer the questions of citizens, Commissioners, and
others no matter the hour or the day of the week. His desire to provide folks
with accurate and prompt responses was just one of things I admire about
Jon's work ethic - he served the people of Buncombe County well, whether
it was wading through policy decisions, or doing what he could to help out a
citizen with a simple or complex problem. This desire drove Jon as an
employee, and as a supervisor, and it defined the professionalism he expected
of us as employees as well.
Letter of Leigh DeForth, Exhibit L.
24

DeForth also describes how Creighton helped and encouraged employees to
take on new responsibilities and tasks, including ones they might not think they
could handle. In other words, he was never afraid to have the people who worked
for him complete tasks well and be recognized – get the glory -- for it.
I owe so much of who I am as a professional planner to Jon - as a true mentor,

he gave me the opportunity to thrive and grow as a planner.
Id.
Cindy Stubblefield worked under Creighton as an Administrative Secretary for five
years, and was a county employee for another 17 years who saw him in action. She writes:
As an employer, Jon showed respect and support for his employees and co-
workers. He appreciated the intelligence of his employees and allowed
creativity and independence in many decisions.
Letter of Cynthia W. Stubblefield, Exhibit M.
Several employees returned to work for Creighton after leaving to pursue other
opportunities. Jon had a maxim that he would tell departing employees: “You can
always leave us once and we’ll take you back.” For example, engineer Michael Goodson
writes to the Court:
In February, 2007, after being with the state some 15 years I returned to work
for Jon as the county Stormwater Administrator and am currently employed
in that position. I sacrificed several things to leave the state and return to the
county. I returned only because Jon would be my supervisor. During my
tenure here at the county I have always had respect and admiration for the
work Jon provided to the citizens of the county. Jon typically worked much
longer hours than the typical employee and resolved several crisis situations
a day.
I have worked with Jon on several large capital improvement projects for the
county. Jon always tried to find ways to cut costs and save taxpayers money.
He did this by keeping projects at or under budget and on schedule.
Letter of Michael R. Goodson, Exhibit N.
25

Michael Bradley has known Creighton for 30 years and worked with him via the
Planning Department on many projects, including “landfill siting, courts expansion, jail
construction, county office and service expansion” and other projects. Bradley writes:
Jon was always willing to allow his employees to grow and took pride and
pleasure in seeing them broaden their horizons, in that way he expanded the
scope and performance of county operations. I was one of those he lifted. His
reach extended from his own staff to young people who worked in other
departments and showed the spark to do more. . . .
He accepts his wrongdoing and has offered to me no excuse nor explanation
for his part in the activity, nor has he shifted a portion of blame to others or
otherwise tried to minimize his actions.
Letter of Michael Bradley, Exhibit O.
Heather Higgins worked with Creighton for many years, and writes:
On a professional level, I saw on a daily basis how knowledgeable and

dedicated Mr. Creighton was with his job. Very few people dedicate their
lives to a job the way he did. He has always been very thoughtful, respectful,
compassionate and driven to provide information and assist the citizens of
Buncombe County, my co-workers and myself. He truly was a wonderful
boss, friend and mentor to me.
Letter of Heather Higgins, Exhibit P.
Creighton was also willing to make the unorthodox hire. Josh O’Conner, who
Creighton hired in 2007, is amazed that “a kid growing up in a 525 sq ft log cabin with a
GED would land the opportunity to serve my community in such an impactful way.”
Letter of Josh O’Conner, Exhibit Q.
I was always in awe of Jon’s ability to see beyond a job application or a

resume to truly understand the people he was hiring. Jon’s ability to find and
develop talent offered employees opportunities they would never be offered
elsewhere. He encouraged us not to overlook people just starting off in their
careers in favor of those with hefty resumes.
26

Id.
Denise Braine worked in the Planning Department for 33 years under Jon. She
writes to the Court:
Over the years the one thing that made Jon so special was his belief in "family
first," not only in his own life, but he also extended that belief to employees
and others with families.
That was also the case when my husband went through a major health crisis
in 2007 due to liver failure. He was extremely ill and had a difficult time
being cared for and sleeping in our waterbed. Jon came in my office one day
and said they were having a new bed and frame delivered to our house within
the week. An unusual gift, but an answer to prayer during a very difficult
time. No one knows he did that for us when it happened, nor has he ever
mentioned it to anyone else to my knowledge.
The loss of his integrity, respect, and good standing in the community is
likely the hardest price to pay for someone like Jon. It will continue to rest
hard on his heart and soul for the rest of his life.
Letter of Denise M. Braine, Exhibit R.
F. You can judge a man by how he treats his neighbors
In 2010, Jon and his wife purchased a small house in Mitchell County that adjoined
land on which they already owned a small cabin. The house was down the river from the
Pigeon Roost Fundamental Brethren Church. The tiny church asked to buy the house
from the Creighton’s to use as a fellowship hall, but could not raise the funds. Jon and his
wife then agreed to donate an easement for use of the home by the church.
Pastor Jerry Barrett wrote to the Court to describe this good deed:
The fellowship hall has been a wonderful asset to our church. The
membership uses it for birthday parties, meetings, family reunions, Preacher
appreciation day, and celebrations honoring Christmas, Easter, Mother's
Day, etc. We also use it to prepare apple butter that we sell as a fundraiser to
help with the upkeep of the church and the fellowship hall.
Letter of Pastor and Staff of Pigeon Roost Fundamental Bretheran Church,
Exhibit S.
27

Ima Jean and Brent Peterson have been neighbors to the Creightons at the Mitchell
County cabin since 1998. They describe Jon as follows:
Almost every time the Creightons come up they bring us something.

Vegetables from their garden, extra seed they might have, goods from the
Farmer's market in Asheville and always checks in with us to see if we need
anything from town on their way in.
When Jon found out that I collect dolls he would get one for me on every
vacation that he and Pat took.
We came to know he was a kind and honest person that you count on him to
do what he says. To this day if we need something done or help getting it
done we can call on him.
Letter of Ima Jean and Brent Peterson, Exhibit T.
G. Jon has always been a good friend and family member
More than 25 friends and citizens of Buncombe County have written letters
in support of Jon Creighton. Here are just a few excerpts of how he has earned
their respect and friendship over the years:
28

Letter of Janet Howe Trester, Exhibit V.
I have known Jon Creighton since I was approximately 10 years old since he
is the uncle of my best friend from childhood. Jon, and his wife Pat, have
been constant figures in my life and have always treated me as family, which
is why I introduce them as my uncle and aunt to people in my life. They have
always included me in their life and have always cared for me as if I was
their own. Since moving to Asheville last year to complete my medical
education, they have been my family away from home.
Letter of Paul White, Exhibit X.
Attached as Exhibit Z are additional letters in support of Jon Creighton.
H. Life after work
Jon Creighton can be impatient. While waiting for sentencing, Jon decided he
wanted to begin doing community service work. His choice reflected his longtime
practical nature: in March he read that a fire at the First Step Farm badly damaged the
men’s dormitory. First Step Farm is a licensed residential supervised living center for
29

substance dependent adults in Candler, a town in Buncombe County. (See
http://www.firststepfarmwnc.org/ .) Jon called and asked if he could volunteer and help
in any way. He was told that because fewer men could be housed after the fire,
maintenance of the farm fields was lacking. So, every Tuesday and Wednesday since
April 9, 2019, Jon has driven out to Candler and helped push-mow the rolling fields, which
takes 3-4 hours. The Executive Director wrote in his letter to the Court:
See Exhibit U.
Last week, Creighton helped to install new smoke detectors and GFI for the First
Step repaired men’s dormitory.
In addition, the pace of retired life did not suit Creighton. He enrolled in a basic
welding class at AB Tech Community College and enjoyed it immensely. Earlier this
month he completed the program and received a welding certificate. Jon plans to take the
MIG-welding class next.
VI. Nature and Circumstances of the Offense
Why did Jon Creighton, a civil servant who lived his life with a solid moral compass,
who loved Buncombe County and worked hard to improve the community, commit this
criminal conduct so late in his career?
It is hard to attempt an explanation without appearing to shift blame. Jon does not
want to shift blame at all. He ponders his mistakes. There was a culture in the 2000s of
vendors paying for dinners and wine for county commissioners at municipal conferences.
30

When Wanda Greene asked him to arrange travel with Wiseman, Jon knew it was wrong,
but did not want to quit his job or get fired. Wanda was mercurial. Wanda was powerful.
Wiseman and Greene knew that Creighton and his wife had a hobby of traveling.
Creighton would rationalize to himself: the contract prices were reasonable, and
Wiseman did a good job. After all, Wiseman had saved the county a lot of money by
suggesting that the landfill’s life capacity could be extended by years simply by changing
the slope, which the county then achieved. (The Court should note two points that may
be unusual in public official cases. First, although Wiseman and his company were given
preferential treatment, the work of the contracts awarded to him was done and completed.
Second, it appears that the prices Wiseman charged for that work were not higher than the
3
reasonable ranges normally charged by vendors and contractors for this type of work. )
All of this is context, but Creighton knows none of it excuses his choices. He
knows he is at fault and could have stopped the travel expense offense conduct.
VII. Collateral Punishments
Jon Creighton has already suffered several punishments directly because of his
offense conduct.
3 The Factual Basis filed by the government in Mr. Wiseman’s case includes the following
paragraph:
31

As noted above, he has lost and will lose more than $4,217.19 per month in
retirement benefits for the rest of his life.
Wells Fargo force-closed the Creightons’ bank accounts, as often happens in white
collar cases that receive publicity. See Exhibit W. He had to scramble to find new
banking.
Creighton brought shame upon himself and his family name. Many of the people
who wrote letters to the Court shared the same theme: that Jon has been wounded by the
self-inflicted great loss of his reputation and standing in the community. The Asheville
Citizen-Times newspaper has repeatedly published the details of his offense conduct, plea
agreement, and factual basis. A large photo of him walking into the courthouse for his
plea hearing appeared above the fold on its front page. The local television news waited
on the courthouse steps for each hearing, and broadcast his walk of shame.
When his conviction becomes final, he will permanently lose his firearm rights,
and his electrician’s license.
VII. Conclusion
Jon Creighton understands that his criminal conduct may cause Buncombe County
residents to lose confidence in their public servants. He has tried to repair that trust by
cooperating early and exhaustively with the federal investigators and the county lawyers.
This sentencing memorandum is not meant to nominate Jon Creighton for
sainthood. He is now a felon. He has done wrong, and he knows and acknowledged it.
32

Sometimes good people do bad things.
But this memo makes clear that Jon’s conduct represents a marked deviation from
an otherwise law-abiding life. He has been a good husband, a good son, a good neighbor
and friend. He was for more than 30 years a diligent public servant and a good boss.
Small businessmen in Buncombe respected his calm fairness. The information in this
memorandum, and the many people who have written letters to the Court and will come to
support him at sentencing, all should help the Court and the residents of Buncombe County
learn that the law, society, and community do not require or need him to go to prison.
Probation is a reasonable sentence in the circumstances of this defendant and this

4
offense conduct.
Offenders on probation are nonetheless subject to several standard conditions that

substantially restrict their liberty. . . .
Probationers may not leave the judicial district, move, or change jobs without
notifying, and in some cases receiving permission from, their probation officer or
the court. They must report regularly to their probation officer, permit
unannounced visits to their homes, refrain from associating with any person
convicted of a felony, and refrain from excessive drinking. USSG § 5B1.3.
Gall v. United States, 552 U.S. 38, 48, 128 S.Ct. 586, 595-96 (2007)
The sentencing statute warns against unwarranted disparity of sentences among
similarly situated defendants. But here, Creighton’s early and extraordinary cooperation
makes a probationary sentence warranted, especially in contrast to the co-defendants,
who did not divulge their misconduct. The statute also stresses that every sentence
4 In the U.S. Sentencing Commission’s latest data report, 25% of bribery defendants in 2017
received a non-imprisonment sentence. See https://www.ussc.gov/research/quick-facts/bribery .
33

should promote respect for the law, and a probationary sentence will encourage future
persons under investigation to come clean early and thoroughly.
Because of Jon Creighton’s extraordinary and early substantial assistance to the
government, his admirable personal characteristics, his work ethic and history, his lack of
any criminal history, his age, his post-offense conduct, and the deep support of him by
family, friends and colleagues, all in combination with the other sentencing factors
explained in this memorandum, Jon Creighton asks the Court to sentence him to a term of
three years’ probation, the first year including home detention with electronic monitoring,
and 400 hours of community service.

th
Respectfully submitted, this the 13 day of August 2019.
FIALKO LAW PLLC
/s/ Christopher C. Fialko

Christopher C. Fialko
Fialko Law PLLC
529 West Summit Avenue, Suite 1B
Charlotte, NC 28203
Tel: (704) 458-5415
chris.fialko@fialko-law.com
CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE
I hereby certify that the foregoing document was served on the parties and counsel
of record on August 13th, 2019 by submitting it to the Court for electronic notice.
/s/ Christopher C. Fialko

Christopher C. Fialko
34

Jon Creighton Sentencing Memo

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Jon Creighton Sentencing Memo

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IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

FOR THE WESTERN DISTRICT OF NORTH CAROLINA

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA ) Case No. 1:18-CR-88

in: taking travel benefits from engineering consultant Joe Wiseman.

others had done.

II. Extraordinary Substantial Assistance to Government Investigation

Case 1:18-cr-00088-RJC-WCM Document 67 Filed 08/13/19 Page 1 of 34

photographs, and handwritten and electronic documents, and compiled a detailed

engineering and consulting contracts to Wiseman’s company, Environmental

Infrastructure Consulting (EIC).

included texts that showed:

Case 1:18-cr-00088-RJC-WCM Document 67 Filed 08/13/19 Page 2 of 34

case “you want something to eat or drink.”

Counsel came with show-and-tell documents to back up the chronology, including

“smoking gun documents,” such as:

Case 1:18-cr-00088-RJC-WCM Document 67 Filed 08/13/19 Page 3 of 34

showed charges corresponding to some of the dates on the list.

Wiseman’s name on it, but Creighton’s photo, and vice versa.

Case 1:18-cr-00088-RJC-WCM Document 67 Filed 08/13/19 Page 4 of 34

The case agents were stunned. And happy.

extent and all the participants.

actual thumb drive containing the electronic copy of the spreadsheet.

Wiseman had cashed each of these. Here is one of the checks:

Case 1:18-cr-00088-RJC-WCM Document 67 Filed 08/13/19 Page 5 of 34

and frequent flier accounts, etc.

agents asked many other questions, and counsel made a list.

Case 1:18-cr-00088-RJC-WCM Document 67 Filed 08/13/19 Page 6 of 34

turned himself in.

Case 1:18-cr-00088-RJC-WCM Document 67 Filed 08/13/19 Page 7 of 34

Section 5K1.1(a)(1) includes the evaluation of the “usefulness” of a defendant’s

to significant evidence against Wiseman.

On July 24, 2018, the government interviewed Creighton at length, in preparation

were what she needed.

from January to August 2018.

Case 1:18-cr-00088-RJC-WCM Document 67 Filed 08/13/19 Page 8 of 34

and reliability of any information or testimony provided by the defendant.” Throughout

Greene, Stone and Wiseman.

full to the County. (Therefore no restitution is due by Creighton.)

up questions of Creighton, and he has always answered them as best he could.

Case 1:18-cr-00088-RJC-WCM Document 67 Filed 08/13/19 Page 9 of 34

weigh under Section 5K1.1.

responded within a day or two.

many facts were damning to himself. He was complete.

Furthermore, the government was able to subsequently corroborate the information

Case 1:18-cr-00088-RJC-WCM Document 67 Filed 08/13/19 Page 10 of 34

should get great credit for his efforts.

A. Section 5K2.16 Policy Statement regarding Voluntary Disclosure of Offense.

investigators knew about it.

II, supra, for a more detailed description of this chronology.)

for a downward variance.

B. Efforts at Restitution Before Investigation

Case 1:18-cr-00088-RJC-WCM Document 67 Filed 08/13/19 Page 11 of 34

which expenses had benefitted Creighton.

Date Check Amt.

C. Extraordinary Acceptance of Responsibility

Case 1:18-cr-00088-RJC-WCM Document 67 Filed 08/13/19 Page 12 of 34

Additional Amended Tax, Interest and Penalties Paid

Year New Tax Owed Interest Penalties Total

2014 4,546 504 955 6,005

2015 6,440 767 966 8,082

2016 9,518 589 857 10,964

2017 3,055 78 92 3,225

Grand Total $28,276