DA, River Falls council meet in closed session

The River Falls Town Council and District Attorney Walt Merrell met behind closed doors for about 30 minutes Tuesday night to discuss “pending litigation”

Sources close to the investigation say that Richard Moss is set to take a plea deal from the district attorney’s office for in his part of a 2012 case.

Some two-and-a-half years ago, Moss, who lived with then-River Falls Mayor Mary Hixon for more than 10 years, and benefited from the funds she took from the municipality, was indicted on four counts of theft of property in the first degree and one count of theft of property in the second degree.

Merrell said previously that Moss represented $100,000 of the $200,000 in funds missing in River Falls.

Hixon, who was in her 90s, passed away last year.

She pleaded guilty in October 2012 to the theft of more than $200,000 in town funds over three years, which included $90,000 in salaries paid to three people who never worked for the town, including Moss.

Moss was also expected to return a property on Sunnyside Street, which once housed the town hall and more recently his feed store.

The illegal transfer of property was conducted in 2008 and was uncovered by the Star-News in 2012, and is at the heart of the investigation that led to the arrest.

In October 2014, Mayor Patricia Gunter announced that Moss’ attorney was no longer representing him.

“There is probably not anything we can do,” she said then. “(Moss is) not here. There is no one for our attorney to work with.”

Moss was slated to go to trial in March, but the trial was continued.

He is currently free on a $135,000 bond.