PANAMA CITY ARTS DIRECTOR TO CHANGE PLEA

Vicki Dwyer Middlemas, the former director of Panama City’s Visual Arts Center, is scheduled to change her plea in federal court on fraud charges. Middlemas was indicted in February on 20 counts of wire fraud related to fraudulent wire transfers from the Arts Center bank account for personal use, along with four counts of falsifying income tax returns so the center could continue to receive the annual city stipend of about $90,000 after the Center had lost its required nonprofit status. Her current plea is “not guilty” and Middlemas is scheduled to change that plea on August 2nd.

Weekly buzz