Messerly trial to begin Dec. 1 in Hamilton County

The trial of former Webster City accountant Doug Messerly is set to begin Dec. 1 in Hamilton County District Court.

Messerly, 64, faces a pair of felonies: first-degree theft and ongoing criminal conduct. He was arrested in September in Des Moines by the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation and the Iowa State Patrol.

District Court Judge William Pattinson, of Ames, is scheduled to preside over the trial.

Messerly is accused of taking $260,000 from long-time client Margaret Stark, of Webster City, according to court records.

From February 2007 through August 2008 he allegedly cashed in some of Stark's investments without her consent and deposited the money into his personal bank account, the records state. His attorney is Monty Fisher, of Fort Dodge.

Messerly, who had been a licensed public accountant in Iowa for more than 40 years, relinquished that license in February. He closed his Webster City business, Messerly Bookkeeping and Accounting, in December 2008 after suffering life-altering injuries in a one-car accident near Duncombe in October 2008.

He was incarcerated in both Hamilton and Black Hawk counties prior to being released on bond on the condition that he stay in Iowa under pre-trial supervision ,with one exception: Messerly is allowed to travel to Rochester, Minn., for medical treatments, but those appointments must be verified in advance through the Iowa Department of Correctional Services, according to a report of the bond review.

Messerly was also required to surrender his passport.

Contact Jane Curtis at (515) 573-2141 or editor@messengernews.net