Former Mingo magistrate going to prison

U.S. District Judge Thomas Johnston said a more than two year long prison sentence for Dallas Toler, 45, a former chief magistrate in Mingo County, was designed to send a strong deterrent message.

On Monday, Toler, who is from Delbarton, received a 27 month long sentence for voter fraud.

He knowingly registered a convicted felon to vote in 2012 and that person voted for “Team Mingo,” a slate of candidates that included Toler, in the 2012 May Primary Election.

“Voters deserve clean elections and honest public officials,” said  Booth Goodwin, U.S. Attorney for West Virginia’s Southern District.  “Politicians have to follow the law like everybody else.  When they forget that, they need to pay the price.”

Toler plead guilty to the voter fraud charge in December and resigned from office.  His bond was revoked in February after federal investigators discovered Toler was allegedly behind cocaine deals in Mingo County.

He is the second former Mingo County elected official to be sentenced as part of a larger federal corruption investigation.

In January, David Baisden, a former Mingo County commissioner, was sentenced to 20 months in prison for attempted extortion.

Michael Thornsbury, a former Mingo County circuit judge, and Michael Sparks, a former Mingo County prosecuting attorney, are scheduled to be sentenced next month for violating a man’s Constitutional rights.