By Jen McCaffery

Archives Reprint

    Two magnets on Richard and Janet Burrow's refrigerator hold up a sonogram photo of a grandchild due this summer.

    One magnet quotes Japanese poet Masahide: "Barn's burned down. Now I can see the moon."

    The other quotes former British prime minister Winston Churchill: "If you're going through hell, keep going."

    In June 2001, The Roanoke Times profiled Richard and Janet Burrow as a power couple. He was president of the National D-Day Memorial Foundation and she was president of Jefferson Center, but they spoke reluctantly, saying they preferred to avoid the limelight.

    But the subsequent federal investigation and prosecution of Richard Burrow on fraud charges thrust the couple into the news, onto the front page and into the courtroom over the past two years.

    The jury in his first trial deadlocked, and last week he was indicted again on 12 federal charges. Now, for the first time, family members and close friends have agreed to talk about the effect the prosecution has had on the Burrows.

    Michelle Bennett, a friend who works at Mill Mountain Theatre, likens the experience to having a major illness in the family.

    "Only it's all the more horrible because it's not an act of God," she said.

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    This story begins long before Richard Burrow's trial, on a hill behind a school in Bedford that became the site of the memorial, said Richard Burrow's stepson, Matt Phillips.

    "D-Day really became a part of our family," said Phillips, 24. "Everywhere we went, people wanted to know how the memorial was going."

    Richard Burrow, 56, "offered his entire self to the project and the dreams of those veterans and the entire foundation," said Phillips, an artist in Brooklyn. "They became his dreams and everyone involved in that project's dreams. That whole process became a part of our family and everyone's lives who knew Richard. They were inseparable."

    Richard Burrow "gave five years of his life to that thing," said his father, John Burrow, a retired captain with the state police in Salem who earned the nickname "Thorough Burrow" because of his attention to detail.

    "It's a beautiful place, and I'm proud of it," said his mother, Almyra Burrow.

    But the hard work to complete the project in time for the June 6, 2001, dedication took its toll on Richard Burrow, said Jim Lindsey, who is Janet Burrow's brother.

    "He was under the stress of having worked 15 hours or more [a day] for six months to get it completed for the dedication, because they knew the president was coming," Lindsey said. "It was a miracle that they did it."

    John Burrow, 90, said his son was having stress-related heart problems, and the family worried he might have a heart attack.

    Less than three weeks after the monument was dedicated, Richard Burrow resigned from the foundation - for health reasons, according to Burrow and family members. But his departure came at the same time the board was learning of financial problems the memorial was facing.

    By October 2001, new leadership at the memorial announced that the foundation was $5 million in debt and asked law enforcement authorities to look into the foundation's finances. Federal authorities began an investigation.

    Amanda Phillips Martinez, a graduate student at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and one of Richard Burrow's stepdaughters, said she didn't take it seriously when the Burrows called to tell her about the federal investigation.

    "It's just absolutely incomprehensible to me...," she said. "The memorial for him was his life's work. I think he was born to do it. He was so passionate about it and passionate about honoring the veterans and their sacrifices, and bringing it to a community that had suffered such great loss."

    Richard Burrow's parents weren't worried, either.

    John Burrow said he had heard the investigation centered on misappropriated funds, and he knew his son would never be involved in any criminal activity.

    "If Richard's ever gotten a speeding ticket, I'm not aware of it," said John Burrow, who lives with his wife in Salem.

    But early in the summer of 2002, Richard and Janet Burrow learned that Richard was likely to face federal charges, Michelle Bennett said. They invited family and friends over to their home in Roanoke's Raleigh Court area to explain the situation and to ask for support, Bennett said.

    Both Richard and Janet Burrow had always worked to make a living, Bennett said. But the Burrows were living on one salary - Janet 's income as president of the Jefferson Center, family and friends said.

    "In this small town, it's very hard to get hired with bad press," Bennett said.

    "My God, you have the U.S. attorney's office with unlimited resources, unlimited dollars and assistance," Lindsey said. "And you have a couple here who had good jobs, but the one job is eliminated and you are faced with legal bills."

    "The cost of this thing was enormous," John Burrow said. "They used up all their personal funds, plus funds from friends. Now we're going into it a second time."

    The first time Richard Burrow was prosecuted, family and friends organized a legal defense fund that eventually raised nearly $150,000.

    "The only way they've kept on fighting and continue to fight is through the support of people who know Richard as a man of integrity and are appreciative of his service in helping the veterans build the D-Day Memorial ," Lindsey said.

    Bennett said Burrow's supporters were also worried about whether the charges against him might affect his wife's career. But both Lindsey and Bennett said the board of directors at Jefferson Center has been supportive of Janet Burrow.

    In June 2002, U.S. Attorney John Brownlee announced Burrow's indictment on wire fraud, mail fraud, loan application fraud and bank fraud charges in connection with his fund raising for the memorial.

    "He was kind of dumbfounded, I reckon," John Burrow said. "He had to begin to defend himself. He came to me and said, 'Dad, I'm not pleading guilty to anything. I haven't done anything wrong.'"

    Richard and Janet Burrow stopped reading local newspapers for a short time after Richard Burrow was arraigned because they felt powerless against what they felt were false statements about Richard, said Phillips Martinez.

    "You don't think it would be difficult, to pick up the paper and read what other people write about your son?" said Almyra Burrow, 84. "I put it aside, because I know the truth."

    After a career that included stints as a city engineer and working with Explore Park, Richard Burrow was frustrated that he couldn't work in that arena anymore.

    He did take on a few consulting jobs, some volunteer work and spent time with family and friends. He also had two surgeries on his Achilles tendon, which kept him on crutches.

    "I think it would have been very tempting a lot of days to just stay in bed, and he didn't do that," Bennett said.

    Burrow did not shy away from public life. He still attends social occasions with friends and has continued to play church league and recreation league softball in the spring and fall.

    Burrow also took on the task of helping prepare his defense, family and friends said.

    Burrow went to trial in federal court in Lynchburg in December 2002. Supporters filled the courtroom. After six days of the trial, the jury deadlocked 7 to 5, in favor of acquittal.

    Richard Burrow laid his head down and wept, said his friend Frances Little West.

    "He was expecting a complete acquittal," West said. "And it devastated him."

    Brownlee said after the mistrial that his office would make a decision about the case soon, out of fairness to Richard Burrow. In March 2003, Brownlee announced that his office planned to seek new charges against Burrow within 90 days, based in part on new evidence from the foundation's lawyer that implicated Burrow.

    Life went on. But even hundreds of miles away, the story followed the couple. That spring, the Burrows visited Matt Phillips in New York City for their first vacation since the trial. They went to see the musical "Rent," and when they got out, Matt Phillips had a message from a friend that a story about the prosecution of his stepfather was on the front page of The New York Times.

    As they walked through the city streets, Matt Phillips was aware of the copies of the newspaper at every store and newsstand they passed. He debated whether to tell the Burrows, because he said he wanted for "maybe even an extra day, just having that feeling of normalcy and being able to take a vacation away from it all."

    Though the prospect of new charges remained, the couple continued to celebrate events, including the arrival of a new grandchild, like any other family would, Bennett said. "But there's an underlying sadness to them all the time."

    The summer of 2003 passed without new charges materializing. Family and friends hoped the case would go away.

    Burrow got his real estate license and went through a four-week training course at MKB Realty in Roanoke, said Lee Mastin of MKB.

    The publicity from Burrow's trial and his link to financial problems in building the D-Day Memorial weren't a detraction, Mastin said.

    Rather, Mastin said Burrow's contacts in Roanoke were a plus.

    "He knows a hell of a lot more people than 99 percent of our agents," Mastin said. "The more people you know in this business, the better off you are. That's one reason we wanted to have him."

    On Friday, Jan. 2, the Burrows had dinner at Frances Little West's house. Richard Burrow talked excitedly about his new career. He had moved into an office with a window and was looking forward to starting work the next Monday, West said.

    One day later, a federal grand jury in Charlottesville indicted Burrow on 12 new charges, including two counts of perjury.

    Despite the new indictment, Burrow is going forward with plans to become a real estate agent with MKB. Depending on the outcome of the trial, though, Burrow's real estate career could be over if he's convicted because the state's real estate board doesn't grant licenses to convicted felons. But Mastin said he'd be sorry if that happened to Burrow.

    Lindsey said Burrow is "strong and determined and fighting for the truth in this case. He's determined to try and work and be a contributing part of this community. He's not a broken man."

    Burrow has been working with Bob Slaughter, a World War II veteran and a guiding force behind the D-Day Memorial, to arrange a trip in May for veterans to Washington, D.C., to see the dedication of a new World War II memorial.

    "After these problems, we asked him if he still wanted to do it, and he said he did," Slaughter said.

    And supporters have announced they're gearing up again.

    "I just want to gather up Janet and Richard and say it's going to be OK," Bennett said. "We don't know if it's going to be OK, of course."

    Staff writer Jay Conley contributed to this report.

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