Another interesting chapter was closed in the ongoing saga of Vidalia’s dubious Square on Carter development, but not without another strange plot twist.

Earlier this week the FBI agent, who had examined the documents regarding the town’s desire to borrow $7 million to purchase and develop land for possible use as a town square, suggested he could find no criminal acts that could be prosecuted.

The handful of people who seem hell-bent on the town proceeding with the speculative development will point to the FBI’s letter and cry, “See, we told you that nothing wrong happened here.”

They’re correct that nothing happened, but not for their wont of trying to the push the fanciful plan into reality.

Had no one challenged the matter, the town may have paid far more than market value for one of the two parcels of property in question.

The FBI agent’s letter to the Louisiana State Bond Commission indicates that perhaps the matter was stopped before any prosecutable wrongdoing actually occurred.

The letter suggests that the original appraised value on the larger of the two properties in question was extremely higher than a subsequent appraisal showed.

Interestingly, that’s the same property formerly owned by Vidalia Mayor Hyram Copeland — who insists he had nothing to do with the appraisal and had sold his interests five years prior — and the current city engineer, Bryant Hammett.

Of course property values are somewhat like beauty — the eye of the beholder makes up a great part of the equation. What is beautiful and priceless to one person is ugly and worthless to another.

For the original appraisal to come back 50- to 95-percent higher than the latest appraisal is as fishy looking and smelling as the rest of the project has been since the beginning. No criminal, prosecutable wrongdoing may have occurred, but the deal still stinks.