Apr 30, 2026
File Photo by Eric Ayres These campaign mailers sent prior to the city of Wheeling’s 2024 municipal election two years ago have been the subject of a criminal case brought by the West Virginia Secretary of State’s office.
WHEELING – A plea deal was offered but not accepted in the criminal case pertaining to anonymous mailers sent out prior to Wheeling’s 2024 municipal election, and following a hearing in Ohio County Magistrate Court on Wednesday, parties are preparing to proceed to trial this summer.
Anand Patel, 42, of Wheeling is facing two counts of communications not authorized by a candidate or a candidate’s committee.
Following a lengthy investigation into the anonymous negative campaign mailers, Patel was initially charged with a total of 22 misdemeanor counts, including two counts of making false statements regarding a candidate, nine counts of publishing or circulating anonymous items supporting or aiding defeat of a clearly identified candidate in an election, nine counts of failure to report independent expenditures of more than $500 and two counts of failure to include a public notice for communication by independent expenditure.
During previous pre-trial hearings in magistrate court, Wetzel County Prosecutor Tim Haught, who was named as special prosecutor in the case, agreed to dismiss all but two of the counts against Patel.
“At the original hearing in August, the state dismissed some, and then at a second hearing in October, the state did not resist dismissal of several others. And we have two active charges, I believe,” Magistrate Kevin Stryker said on Wednesday.
Late last year, parties indicated to the court that a resolution to the case was likely to be presented to the court. However, an agreement was not reached since the last pre-trial hearing.
“We’ve discussed that – originally those were the two charges that the plea offer was made for, and I think at this point in time, we’re probably just going to have to set those two charges for trial,” Haught said during Wednesday’s hearing.
Haught noted that the proposed plea deal offered to Patel involved a fine. Although some jail time could be imposed if a conviction were to be rendered in the case, the special prosecutor said he still may likely seek monetary penalties.
“Even if I win the trial, I’ll probably be asking for fines,” he said.
Patel, who has been representing himself throughout the proceedings, has been cooperative throughout the process, Haught has noted.
Following Wednesday’s court hearing, Patel noted that he hopes to have the remaining two charges dismissed – like the others have been – before the case proceeds to trial. Otherwise, he said he looks forward to shedding light on how the probe produces so many charges that were ultimately dismissed.
“After personally litigating this matter and securing the constitutional dismissal of 20 of the 22 charges originally filed, what remains are two narrow technical disclosure allegations under the election code,” Patel said Wednesday. “I intend to move to dismiss those as well. If this matter proceeds to trial, I look forward to examining how the investigation unfolded and placing the contents of each mailer on the record. When 20 charges disappear, it’s reasonable to take a closer look at what motivated them in the first place.”
Because of the magistrate court’s trial schedule and the availability of investigator Chuck Jackson of the West Virginia Secretary of State’s Office, who was present during Wednesday’s hearing, the trial date in this case is expected to be scheduled during the latter half of August.
Just prior to the city of Wheeling’s last municipal election in May 2024, the mysterious pre-election campaign mailers began appearing in mailboxes throughout the city. The material was sent from Florida in waves with nine different designs focusing on various city candidates and topics.
All seats on Wheeling City Council – including the mayor’s seat – were up for grabs in contested races in 2024. Most of the mailers in question were considered to be negative campaign attack ads focusing on candidates in the council and mayoral races.
A total of more than 12,500 of these mailers were distributed throughout the Wheeling area via U.S. mail during the first weeks of May that year.
None of the large, postcard-style mailers included the “paid for” disclaimer required on campaign mailers. The mailers did include a post office box number belonging to Wheeling resident Lou Smith, who also vehemently denied any connection to the campaign mailers and challenged the person who sent them to come forward and identify themselves.
Under West Virginia’s code regarding political disclaimers, a disclaimer notice must contain the full name of the individual, group, political committee, corporation or labor organization that paid for the communication, along with any abbreviated name it uses to identify itself.
The disclaimer notice must also provide the payor’s permanent street address, telephone number, or website address and must state that the communication was not authorized by any candidate or candidate’s committee.
The sudden appearance of the mud-slinging campaign mailers in May 2024 took many people in the community by surprise — including the candidates in city council races and the six-person mayoral race. All of the candidates who were named in the mailers ran considerably clean campaigns. They condemned the attack ads and denied any knowledge of their source.
An investigation into the source of the mailers eventually led to Patel being charged in connection with the case. According to court filings, Patel had spent more than $14,000 with a Florida printing company to produce the mailers. After charges were leveled against him, Patel posted a $34,500 personal recognizance bond.
Prior to the election mailer scandal, Patel had friction with city leaders who in the spring of 2022 took action to declare the Wheeling Inn on Main Street downtown – a hotel he managed – as a public nuisance. The Wheeling Inn, which sat adjacent to the historic Wheeling Suspension Bridge, was subsequently acquired by the Wheeling Convention and Visitor’s Bureau for $1.7 million and was razed. The property is expected to be redeveloped into a new multimillion-dollar Wheeling Gateway Center.
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