Tag: Opal Barron

August 30, 1968: Wally Barron Acquitted of Federal Charges

On August 30, 1968, Wally Barron was acquitted of federal charges stemming from alleged money kickbacks and rigged state contracts during the time he was governor. Several of Barron’s associates weren’t so fortunate. His road commissioner, Burl Sawyers; Deputy State Road Commissioner, Vincent J. Johnkoski; Finance and Administration Commissioner Truman Gore; longtime Barron friend Bonn Brown of Elkins; and Clarksburg auto dealer Fred Schroath were all convicted in the kickback scheme. 

But the former governor didn’t escape his legal problems for long. It was soon rumored that Barron and his wife, Opal, had bribed the jury foreman—the lone jury holdout for acquitting Barron. In 1971, a federal jury indicted both Barrons for bribery, claiming the former first lady had passed $25,000 in a brown paper bag to the jury foreman’s wife.

Wally Barron pleaded guilty to a new indictment of conspiracy, bribery, and obstruction of justice in exchange for the charges being dropped against his wife. He was sentenced to 25 years in prison and served four. He died in 2002 at age 90. Opal Barron died in 2010 at age 95.

February 14, 1968: Governor Barron and Others Indicted

On February 14, 1968, former Governor Wally Barron and five others were indicted by a federal grand jury on bribery and conspiracy charges.

The indictments alleged that members of the Barron Administration, including the governor himself, had set up “dummy corporations” and received kickbacks from people doing business with the state. Five state vendors testified they’d made payments to the dummy firms. After 18 hours of deliberation, the jury found everyone but Barron guilty.

Word soon began to spread that the jury foreman, Ralph Buckalew, had been bribed by Barron. Making the accusation seem more plausible, the jury vote had initially been in favor of convicting Barron, 11-1, with Buckalew as the lone holdout. In 1971, a grand jury indicted Buckalew, Barron, and Barron’s wife, Opal, on bribery charges related to the earlier trial. The former first lady was included because she allegedly handed a paper bag containing $25,000 to the jury foreman’s wife

The former governor pleaded guilty in exchange for charges being dropped against Opal Barron. Buckalew also pleaded guilty. Wally Barron served four years of a 25-year prison sentence.

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