WILLIAMSON CO.—A civil proceeding in Williamson County circuit court has brought out what can only be called a fraudulent act at a local bank…but nothing has been done about the matter except to sweep it under the rug.
The players in the case might be the reason why: The issue involves Ryan Hughes, son of local funeral home director Larry Hughes, whose alleged cocaine use has caused an arrest of a local realtor, and a considerable amount of trouble for his attorney wife, Joanna Hughes, now living upstate.
Mrs. Hughes is actually litigating her own case…and because she has personal knowledge of the facts at hand, depositions in the matter are particularly damning.
The bank under question is none other than the same owned by the man in this spot last month, Tom Franks: Farmers State Bank, this one in Marion. And the facts issued in depositions (sworn testimony) taken earlier this year in the three-year-old divorce show a stunning act that, under any other circumstances, would likely have resulted in charges…but locals say that because it’s Ryan Hughes, nothing will ever come of it.
Deposed about knowledge of coke use
A Hughes divorce deposition of Farmers’ community bank president in Marion, Steve Cook, 46, was taken April 8, 2013.
During the dep, Cook was asked pointed questions about Hughes’ cocaine use, a point of contention in the divorce, as it was an incident that arose from alleged use that alerted Joanna Hughes to the depth of the problem.
According to previous court testimony, Joanna Hughes had learned that her soon-to-be-ex-husband had taken out a mortgage on the couples’ exclusive Kokapelli-area home in Marion, this at Farmers, but without her signature.
Testimony elicited from Cook showed that it wasn’t exactly par for the course for this to have happened.
Cook testified that he was aware that “there were a lot of rumors flying around town” about Ryan Hughes’ cocaine use, and that there had been some concern about Cook’s own son going to spend the night at Hughes’ home with Hughes’ son at that time.
He then testified that in 2009, he’d had conversation with Joanna Hughes about a $90,000 second mortgage taken out on the Hughes Residence on Steeplechase Drive.
During that conversation, Joanna stated that she had not signed the note, and had asked him if her signature appeared on it.
Cook testified that he had told her at that time that it would be required for her to sign the mortgage, since she had a marital interest in the home. Ordinarily, he testified under questioning, a notary acknowledged a signature of someone signing such a note. If both parties whose signatures appeared on a mortgage document were present, the notary’s signature and stamp indicated that.
In the case of this note, there was such a notarization…but Joanna Hughes hadn’t signed the note. Instead, someone had signed—forged—her signature on the $90,000 note.
The cocaine/gambling ‘activities’
Instead of revealing who it was that signed the note, however, Cook stated under oath that he contacted Ryan Hughes’ father Larry, who was a “guarantor” on the note, and told him they needed to “get this squared away”…that he “needed to get it paid off, you know,” Cook testified.
The loan officer, Cook said, acknowledged a “mistake” had been made, and “trusted that the documents would be taken home, both husband and wife would sign, they would be returned and be legitimate signatures and they weren’t.”
A Steve Thompson was the loan officer in question. When it became clear that Hughes had forged his wife’s signature, Cook testified, neither he nor the bank contacted law enforcement, and Larry Hughes “took care of the loan.”
Joanna Hughes took the questioning to “large loans Ryan Hughes had taken out to cover gambling activities,” which loan activity, it was confirmed, was overseen by Thompson.
Joanna Hughes questioned Cook about Cook making statements to Thompson regarding discussing with law enforcement Ryan Hughes’ cocaine use, with Cook “unequivocally” denied.
Yet Joanna reminded Cook that Ryan Hughes had answered about recent arrests, detentions of questioning, in divorce interrogatories: “Near the end of June 2012 two Marion police officers came to my home in response to a burglar alarm that went off. While they were there they asked if anyone else was in the house and I assured them there was no one else there. One of the officers said, Ryan, I understand you have done cocaine. I honestly answered him that I had done cocaine in the past. He then asked me if there was any in the house and I said there is a little. It had only been there less than 24 hours. At his request I showed him the cocaine.”
The officers asked about Vicki Williams’ real estate sign in the yard, and Hughes being in the home earlier, where they “shared some cocaine.”
Williams arrested, not Hughes
From there, the story into Williams’ arrest, but not Hughes’, emerged.
“‘The officers asked if I would be willing to purchase some cocaine and be a cooperating witness for the police authorities,’” Joanna Hughes read from her husband’s own submitted paperwork. “‘I was given the name and phone number of a gentleman from the Southern Illinois Enforcement Group. I called him the next day. He told me that he would be back in touch with me in about a week. In about three weeks he has contacted me,’ and I’m reading as it states, ‘and asked if I was willing to make a purchase of cocaine. At the request of the Southern Illinois Enforcement Group on Monday, July 30, 2012, I purchased cocaine from Vicki Williams while being surveyed by representatives of the Southern Illinois Enforcement Group. It was my understanding that Vicki Williams was later arrested and has recently pled guilty to some charge related to cocaine.’
“Are you aware that those admissions had been made by Mr. Ryan Hughes?”
(Con’t in the next issue on stands September 11, 2013)