Confidential order issued in Westminster case

An order of confidentiality has been issued in a case in which Westminster is suing its former bank.  Judge Lawton McIntosh of the Oconee Common Pleas Court issued the order in the case of Westminster against First Citizens Bank and Trust Company and Scott Bannister, a former city police chief.  Attorneys representing the city and the bank consented to the order. The case, still in a pre-trial status, contains allegations of blame against First Citizens as the result of an embezzlement scheme by Bannister.  Last summer Bannister pleaded guilty to embezzlement and misconduct in office and received a suspended sentence amounting to two years in prison, five years probation, and the requirement that he make restitution to the city in the amount of $113 thousand, 551 dollars.  The consent and confidentiality order, entered in the Common Pleas Court on Monday, covers all parties in the case along with documents and deposition testimony to be used to prepare for trial.