Greene County Commissioner of the Revenue Larry Vernon Snow has pleaded guilty to attempted witness tampering in federal court, and has resigned from his elected position.
The charges against Snow, 73, who had served as Commissioner of the Revenue in Greene County since 1987, stem from the 2017 arrest of his son, Bryant Austin Snow, 33, on two state drug charges in 2017. Those charges came from the use by law enforcement of a confidential informant who purchased meth and heroin from Bryant Snow, who pleaded guilty to one count of distribution of meth in Greene County in 2018.
Snow, while in jail, received documents and other evidence in his state case, including video and audio of the narcotics buys by the confidential informant, and made calls to his father in which the two discussed their shared animosity toward confidential informants generally and the one who implicated Bryant Snow in his case specifically.
In one call, Larry Snow told his son that the informant “is going to get his, I promise you that,” and then stated that the two should let “everybody know all about it” and “who he is, what he’s doing.”
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Virginia notified the Snows in 2019 that they were under investigation involving their conduct toward the informant. Larry Snow responded by drafting and distributing 12,000 leaflets to residents of Greene County describing how the sheriff of Greene County used “drug dealers” as police informants, and that “this same drug dealer” was “caught twice,” and described a reportedly lenient sentence that he had received.
“The former Commissioner of the Revenue for Greene County, an elected official of over 30 years, broadcast information throughout his community about a witness having assisted law enforcement authorities, all in retaliation against that witness. The Department of Justice will hold accountable those who seek to harass, intimidate or retaliate against any federal witnesses, and I am grateful for the result that was achieved today through our investigation,” U.S. Attorney Christopher R. Kavanaugh said.
“Elected officials should hold themselves to a higher standard and serve their community responsibly. Mr. Snow violated the faith entrusted to him, and with his son criminally used personal information of community members for their own gain,” said Stanley M. Meador, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Richmond Division. “The FBI will continue to work with our partners to investigate instances of witness tampering, and are happy with today’s change in plea.”
As part of the plea agreement, Larry Snow, who had been re-elected while under federal indictment, has agreed to not run for elected office during any sentence or period of court supervision.
Bryant Snow also pleaded guilty today to a related charge of heroin distribution.
The Snows are scheduled for sentencing this summer.
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