Wednesday, December 3, 2014

The indictments erupt in Alcorn County

State Auditor Stacey Pickering issued the following press release:



259 Felony Counts Issued in Alcorn County Following OSA Investigation

A year-long investigation by special agents from the Office of the State Auditor has resulted in the filing of 259 criminal charges and the arrest of a member of the Alcorn County Board of Supervisors, the county purchase clerk, and three county vendors.  All are alleged to have taken part in various conspiracies designed to and resulting in the embezzlement of public funds.

"The taxpayers of Alcorn County should be incensed that an elected official and a county employee were literally 'cooking the books' with the aid and assistance of three local residents," State Auditor Stacey Pickering said.  "This is one of the most elaborate cases of fraud I've seen since becoming State Auditor."

An Alcorn County Grand Jury issued copious arrest warrants Tuesday against District Two Supervisor Jimmy Dallan (Dal) Nelms, Purchase Clerk William Paul Rhodes, and county vendors Jimmy Ray Mitchell, Joseph Lin McNair, Jr., and Danny Roy Peters.

Nelms, 42, of Glen, is charged with 156 criminal counts.  Included are charges of embezzlement by a public official, making false representation to defraud the government, fraudulently obtaining public funds, forgery, and conspiracy. Nelms is accused of creating an embezzlement scheme in which he used his position as county supervisor to purchase heavy equipment from a county vendor and receiving payments from the vendor in exchange for the purchases.

Additionally, Nelms is accused of accepting payments from county vendors and using county funds to pay fraudulent invoices for work that was never performed as well as for rental equipment that was never rented. He is also accused of intercepting checks intended for alleged participating vendors, forging their signatures, and cashing the checks. Nelms is also alleged to have used county funds to pay for his wife's personal cell phone and the accompanying monthly cell phone bill. 

Other charges against Nelms include the use of fraudulent mock bidders as county vendors to increase the price of equipment purchased on behalf of the county; having fraudulent vendors sell Nelms' personal items to Alcorn County, and utilizing a county-owned vehicle to transport his personal boat to and from Arkansas. He is also accused of purchasing personal items for his home on the Alcorn County Lowe's account.  In addition to the arrest warrant, Nelms has been served with a civil demand for $308,244.71. If found guilty of all charges, he could face more than 600 years in prison.

Rhodes, 55, of Corinth, has been charged with 13 criminal counts. Included are charges of conspiracy to commit embezzlement, making false representations to defraud the government, and hindering prosecution in the first degree. Rhodes is accused of using his position as purchase clerk to circumvent the bidding process as a means to facilitate embezzlement schemes, conspiring with others to create fraudulent dumpsites in an effort to avoid investigation, and hindering OSA Special Agents' investigation by photographing investigative notes and providing them to Nelms. In addition to the arrest warrant, Rhodes has been served with a civil demand for $77,509.94. If found guilty of all charges, he could face more than 60 years in prison.

Mitchell, 43, of Corinth, has been charged with 32 criminal counts. Included are charges of fraudulently obtaining public funds and conspiracy to commit embezzlement. Mitchell is accused of assisting Nelms in the creation of multiple schemes designed to embezzle funds from Alcorn County through the fraudulent sale of nonexistent culverts to the county and fraudulent equipment sales. He is believed to have violated a subpoena in an attempt to conceal various crimes he committed with Nelms. Mitchell has been served with a civil demand for $95,382.35. If found guilty of all charges, he could face more than 150 years in prison.

McNair Jr., 39, of Glen, has been charged with 31 criminal counts.  Included are charges of fraudulently obtaining public funds and conspiracy to commit embezzlement. McNair is accused of allowing Nelms to submit fraudulent invoices to Alcorn County on his behalf and paying Nelms a portion of the checks once payment was received. He is also accused of allowing Nelms to use his business to sell personal items to Alcorn County and paying proceeds of the sales to Nelms. If found guilty of all charges, McNair could face more than 150 years in prison.

Peters, 61, of Corinth, has been charged with 27 criminal counts.  Included are charges of conspiracy and fraudulently obtaining public funds. Peters is accused of allowing Nelms to submit fraudulent invoices to Alcorn County under his name and receiving a portion of the payments that resulted from the submission of the fraudulent invoices. If found guilty of all charges, Peters could face more than 150 years in prison.

12 comments:

Anonymous said...

What a difference an election makes!

Anonymous said...

259 felony counts. Up to 600 years in the pen. That should clean up things. Getting all that restitution money will be another slam dunk for Stacey.

Anonymous said...

Damn. I bet the rest of the criminals in the state are shaking right now. That makes me smile.

Good job, Stacey.

Anonymous said...

They should look in in all the elected officials in alcorn county. I've lived here my whole life and these things run rampant. It will surprise me if any of these guys do serious jail time based on past situations like this.

Anonymous said...

Yeah good job! He must've been holding these charges in the bag for a while to use just before election time.

Anonymous said...

Sounds great except down here on the coast we know how it works. 18 months in Club Pensacola. Not a bad way to spend the time when caught in a crime. Oh yes...let's talk about retribution...pennies on the dollar.

Good job getting in the media again let's see if he can put some bite into this one.

Anonymous said...

Pickering turns his head to the corruption in Madison County. Too much campaign money there.

Kingfish said...

The office has become much more aggressive since Brad White came on board and Shoemaker left.

Anonymous said...



someone needs to tell the convicts in Alcorn county it is not a requirement to smile in mug shots. for the life of me I do not understand why people think it is a damn "class" picture to be proud of. Dumbasses.

Class Photos said...

I don't see mugshots in the material Kingfish posted.

Anonymous said...

Wish he would get around to the Hinds County Board of Supervisors, particularly Robert Graham

Ain'tcho Culvert Job said...

I thought all the graft and corruption were brought to a screeching halt when we did away with the 'beat system'.



Recent Comments

Search Jackson Jambalaya

Subscribe to JJ's Youtube channel

Archives

Trollfest '09

Trollfest '07 was such a success that Jackson Jambalaya will once again host Trollfest '09. Catch this great event which will leave NE Jackson & Fondren in flames. Othor Cain and his band, The Black Power Structure headline the night while Sonjay Poontang returns for an encore performance. Former Frank Melton bodyguard Marcus Wright makes his premier appearance at Trollfest singing "I'm a Sweet Transvestite" from "The Rocky Horror Picture Show." Kamikaze will sing his new hit, “How I sold out to da Man.” Robbie Bell again performs: “Mamas, don't let your babies grow up to be Bells” and “Any friend of Ed Peters is a friend of mine”. After the show, Ms. Bell will autograph copies of her mug shot photos. In a salute to “Dancing with the Stars”, Ms. Bell and Hinds County District Attorney Robert Smith will dance the Wango Tango.

Wrestling returns, except this time it will be a Battle Royal with Othor Cain, Ben Allen, Kim Wade, Haley Fisackerly, Alan Lange, and “Big Cat” Donna Ladd all in the ring at the same time. The Battle Royal will be in a steel cage, no time limit, no referee, and the losers must leave town. Marshand Crisler will be the honorary referee (as it gives him a title without actually having to do anything).


Meet KIM Waaaaaade at the Entergy Tent. For five pesos, Kim will sell you a chance to win a deed to a crack house on Ridgeway Street stuffed in the Howard Industries pinata. Don't worry if the pinata is beaten to shreds, as Mr. Wade has Jose, Emmanuel, and Carlos, all illegal immigrants, available as replacements for the it. Upon leaving the Entergy tent, fig leaves will be available in case Entergy literally takes everything you have as part of its Trollfest ticket price adjustment charge.

Donna Ladd of The Jackson Free Press will give several classes on learning how to write. Smearing, writing without factchecking, and reporting only one side of a story will be covered. A donation to pay their taxes will be accepted and she will be signing copies of their former federal tax liens. Ms. Ladd will give a dramatic reading of her two award-winning essays (They received The Jackson Free Press "Best Of" awards.) "Why everything is always about me" and "Why I cover murders better than anyone else in Jackson".

In the spirit of helping those who are less fortunate, Trollfest '09 adopts a cause for which a portion of the proceeds and donations will be donated: Keeping Frank Melton in his home. The “Keep Frank Melton From Being Homeless” booth will sell chances for five dollars to pin the tail on the jackass. John Reeves has graciously volunteered to be the jackass for this honorable excursion into saving Frank's ass. What's an ass between two friends after all? If Mr. Reeves is unable to um, perform, Speaker Billy McCoy has also volunteered as when the word “jackass” was mentioned he immediately ran as fast as he could to sign up.


In order to help clean up the legal profession, Adam Kilgore of the Mississippi Bar will be giving away free, round-trip plane tickets to the North Pole where they keep their bar complaint forms (which are NOT available online). If you don't want to go to the North Pole, you can enjoy Brant Brantley's (of the Mississippi Commission on Judicial Performance) free guided tours of the quicksand field over by High Street where all complaints against judges disappear. If for some reason you are unable to control yourself, never fear; Judge Houston Patton will operate his jail where no lawyers are needed or allowed as you just sit there for minutes... hours.... months...years until he decides he is tired of you sitting in his jail. Do not think Judge Patton is a bad judge however as he plans to serve free Mad Dog 20/20 to all inmates.

Trollfest '09 is a pet-friendly event as well. Feel free to bring your dog with you and do not worry if your pet gets hungry, as employees of the Jackson Zoo will be on hand to provide some of their animals as food when it gets to be feeding time for your little loved one.

Relax at the Fox News Tent. Since there are only three blonde reporters in Jackson (being blonde is a requirement for working at Fox News), Megan and Kathryn from WAPT and Wendy from WLBT will be on loan to Fox. To gain admittance to the VIP section, bring either your Republican Party ID card or a Rebel Flag. Bringing both and a torn-up Obama yard sign will entitle you to free drinks served by Megan, Wendy, and Kathryn. Get your tickets now. Since this is an event for trolls, no ID is required. Just bring the hate. Bring the family, Trollfest '09 is for EVERYONE!!!

This is definitely a Beaver production.


Note: Security provided by INS.

Trollfest '07

Jackson Jambalaya is the home of Trollfest '07. Catch this great event which promises to leave NE Jackson & Fondren in flames. Sonjay Poontang and his band headline the night with a special steel cage, no time limit "loser must leave town" bout between Alan Lange and "Big Cat"Donna Ladd following afterwards. Kamikaze will perform his new song F*** Bush, he's still a _____. Did I mention there was no referee? Dr. Heddy Matthias and Lori Gregory will face off in the undercard dueling with dangling participles and other um, devices. Robbie Bell will perform Her two latest songs: My Best Friends are in the Media and Mama's, Don't Let Your Babies Grow up to be George Bell. Sid Salter of The Clarion-Ledger will host "Pin the Tail on the Trial Lawyer", sponsored by State Farm.

There will be a hugging booth where in exchange for your young son, Frank Melton will give you a loooong hug. Trollfest will have a dunking booth where Muhammed the terrorist will curse you to Allah as you try to hit a target that will drop him into a vat of pig grease. However, in the true spirit of Separate But Equal, Don Imus and someone from NE Jackson will also sit in the dunking booth for an equal amount of time. Tom Head will give a reading for two hours on why he can't figure out who the hell he is. Cliff Cargill will give lessons with his .80 caliber desert eagle, using Frank Melton photos as targets. Tackleberry will be on hand for an autograph session. KIM Waaaaaade will be passing out free titles and deeds to crackhouses formerly owned by The Wood Street Players.

If you get tired come relax at the Fox News Tent. To gain admittance to the VIP section, bring either your Republican Party ID card or a Rebel Flag. Bringing both will entitle you to free drinks.Get your tickets now. Since this is an event for trolls, no ID is required, just bring the hate. Bring the family, Trollfest '07 is for EVERYONE!!!

This is definitely a Beaver production.

Note: Security provided by INS
.