Road Wheels & Road Wheel Recommendations?

LBS mechanic said the wheel is written off and he wouldn't ride it down the road

That's what I'd say if I had liability to think about. The thing is, I don't think I have a single bike which would be certified as fit to ride by anybody who thought I might sue them if it broke. I'm not saying whether your wheel is dead or not, but if it was mine I'd have enough confidence in my own ability to make that decision for myself. As soon as you pass that decision to somebody else, you're either asking an amateur whose opinion is worth nothing or a professional who is duty bound to opine that anything which is damaged is dead. To prove that something is still as strong as it should be, you either have to do a destructive test in which case the result is moot, or non-destructive testing which is more expensive than just replacing the part.