COPPELL Results are out in the investigation into the former mayor of Coppell's use of a city-issued credit card.
Mayor Jayne Peters shot and killed her daughter then herself earlier this month.
A report issued by City Attorney Robert Hager said Peters made 68 transactions using her city credit card over an eight-month period. The purchases deemed inappropriate started last November and totaled $6,353.
Items purchased on the card ranged from clothing and groceries to restaurant meals and groceries.
When the charges for Hollister and Anthropologie showed up on a bill, the finance department reviewed those and felt those were strange charges in terms of what is city business, Hager said.
Other personal purchases the mayor made included gasoline, travel expenses, and two rental cars. Friends of Peters' daughter Corrine said the 19-year-old thought her Hyundai Sonata was a graduation present.
I believe it was June 2nd through the 12th, which was the return of the Avis car, Hager said. That was a car that Corinne Peters was driving, and it's clearly not a city-related expense.
Another surprise in the report a $10,000 cash donation that was left in an envelope at City Hall for the city manager. An anonymous typed note said:
Please use these dollars to reimburse the city for any and all credit card charges of Jayne Peters, with any remainder to go to the city.
It just shows to me that other people would have helped her had she reached out to them, Hager said. For whatever reasons, she decided to use the card for these personal charges.
Coppell city leaders had been preparing to turn the case over to the police when the bodies of Mayor Peters and her daughter were discovered at their home on July 13.
The report says City Manager Clay Phillips met with City Council member Karen Hunt one day earlier, explaining his concern and his intent to confront Peters following the July 13 City Council meeting.
Phillips questioned Peters repeatedly regarding her expenditures requesting reimbursement and receipts. According to the report, Peters acknowledged that personal charges had been inadvertently made, and that she stated on a number of occasions that she had the receipts and would reimburse the city for any personal charges.
Documentation used to compile the report can be seen at Coppell Town Center by appointment.
Peters had been in dire financial straits for at least two years before her death.
E-mail cvega@wfaa.com and sstoler@wfaa.com
