Lawrence Chester "Chuck" Woolard, the Republican nominee running for the Southeast Ward seat on the Winston-Salem City Council, pleaded guilty and was convicted of common law forgery after being charged with 44 counts of felony forgery in Guilford County in 1991.
Court documents show that Woolard was forced to pay court costs and sentenced to five years of supervised probation on Jan. 3, 1991. In Forsyth County, Woolard has a 2001 conviction for marijuana possession and series of civil judgments levied against him in connection with his home improvement businesses, C&W Home Improvement and RCW Design Construction, LLC.
On Dec. 3, 2008, Joni and Michael Sweeney filed a claim for $4,900 against Woolard in small claims court and won the case. Woolard failed to appear in court, so Joni Sweeney asked her attorney to file a writ of judgment against him. Nearly a year later, the writ has not been served and the Sweeneys haven’t received a dime in compensation from Woolard.
Joni Sweeney said when she heard Woolard was running for city council, she decided to step forward.
“My feelings are if this man ran his own personal business this way, he has no business being in a position where he can have influence on the direction the city is going to go,” Sweeney said. “The last thing we need is Chuck Woolard in office doing anything for anybody.”
In January, Paul Herin won his small claims case against Woolard for more than $2,900. Like the Sweeneys, Herin has yet to receive a penny. Herin’s case also dates back nearly two years when Woolard’s company, RCW Construction Design LLC, botched a home improvement job, he said. Herin's claim has been accruing interest and now stands at $3,236.
Court records reveal at least six other unsatisfied judgments levied against Woolard in Forsyth County since 2003. Kerwin Baptist Church, Hire and Sons Electrical Company, Jim’s T-Bird and Parts, Waughtown Wholesale, Inc., Doctor Driveway of High Point and Mary Martin have all successfully won judgments against Woolard. The total dollar amount of those six judgments exceeds $9,000. All remain unsatisfied.
In a letter to the YES! Weekly editor, Katrina Harding identified herself as another victim of Chuck Woolard. Earlier this year, Harding, a single mother, said she had saved $20,000 and wanted to renovate the townhouse she purchased in 2000. Harding said Woolard and his company, RCW Construction Design LLC, promised to give her the most for her $20,000 so she hired him. Harding said Woolard promised to complete the job in three weeks, but after 10 weeks, the work was not completed and her home had been turned upside down.
"Chuck Woolard had my money but after ten weeks, I still had no rooms completed," Harding writes. "Then he asked me for more money. When I refused, he walked off my job leaving my family with a disaster to deal with."
Months later, Harding is still trying to get her house fixed. She is also trying to recover the more than $21,000 she paid Woolard.
Woolard said he is trying to resolve all the judgments against him, but he’s suffered a few setbacks. Woolard claims one of his former employees embezzled money from him and he has had to spend a lot of time away from his business to care for his ailing wife, Cheryl. A search of court records in Forsyth County reveals there are no pending criminal charges against the former employee Woolard named to YES! Weekly.
In 2001, Woolard was found guilty of marijuana possession and sentenced to 15 days in jail suspended sentence with 12 months of unsupervised probation.
Woolard said his family physician suggested he use marijuana for health reasons, and claims he had less than an ounce of marijuana when sheriff’s deputies arrested him. Woolard said his arrest was politically motivated.
For complete story, check out the Oct. 28 edition of YES! Weekly.
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