Pelahatchie Mayor Ryshonda Beechem asked a Rankin County Circuit Court to remove all members of the Board of Aldermen today. Mayor Beechem issued the following statement:
The attached Petition for Writ of Mandamus was filed today by Mayor in her official capacity against the current board and deputy city clerk in Rankin Circuit Court. This Mandamus petition is companion litigation to Rankin Chancery Cause No. 19-409 and reflects facts and evidence as set forth by the State Auditor in Hinds Chancery (1st Dist.) Cause No. 19-421.Attorney Thomas Bellinder represents Mayor Beechem.
In sum, over $1,175,934.70 in restricted public money is missing and gone from the coffers of the Town of Pelahatchie, Mississippi. The current board members and deputy city clerk of the Town have engaged in a pattern of unfaithful conduct which involves repeated unlawful transfers and expenditures of restricted public money from a special fund, the Pelahatchie Police Department Drug Seizure Fund, in order to conceal unlawful deficit spending (sometimes exceeding $800,000.00), bad checks, insufficient accounts, and to create the false illusion of fiscal responsibility while in public office and of financial soundness of the Town to which they owed the duty of faithfulness to the law. This pattern of unlawful behavior continues to this day.
These Defendants each personally benefited from these unlawful transfers with regard to salary levels and the payment of salaries to themselves, including the payment of the excessive salary of Defendant Bettye Massey, at times when the Town's General Fund had no way to fund payment of such salaries. Defendant Bettye Massey was paid $82,000.00, per year for acting as clerk for a town, which according to the 2000 census had a population of 1,461 people. Furthermore, these Defendants each personally benefited from these unlawful transfers as the unlawful transfers allowed the concealment of unlawful deficit spending, bad checks, insufficient bank accounts and created the illusion of faithfulness to the law, fiscal responsibility and financial soundness.
Therefore, pursuant to § 11-41-1, Mississippi Code of 1972, as amended, Petitioner Mayor Ryshonda Beechem would respectfully request that the Court make a finding that Defendants Margie Warren, Alderman of the Town of Pelahatchie, Michael Adams, Alderman of the Town of Pelahatchie, James Harrell, Alderman of the Town of Pelahatchie, Eddie Jones, Alderman of the Town of Pelahatchie, Frank Boyd, Alderman of the Town of Pelahatchie and Bettye Massey, city clerk of the Town of Pelahatchie, failed to perform their statutory duties prescribed under Miss. Code Ann. § 21-3-13, Miss. Code Ann. § 21-3-15, Miss. Code Ann. § 21-15-11, Miss. Code Ann. § 21-15-17, Miss. Code Ann. § 21-15-19, Miss. Code Ann. § 21-17-5, Miss. Code Ann. § 21-33-327, Miss. Code Ann. § 21-35-9, Miss. Code Ann. § 21-35-13, Miss. Code Ann. § 21-35-15, Miss. Code Ann. § 21-35-17, Miss. Code Ann. § 21-35-25, Miss. Code Ann. § 21-39-5, Miss. Code Ann. § 21-39-15, Miss. Code Ann. § 21-39-17, Miss Code Ann. § 25-1-47, Miss. Code Ann. § 25-4-105, Miss. Code Ann. § 27-105-367, Miss. Code Ann. § 31-7-57 and Miss. Code Ann. § 41-29-181, as amended.
The Petitioner would further request that the Court issue a writ of mandamus commanding the Defendants be removed from office pending a special election to replace them.
In the alternative, Petitioner would request that this Court issue a writ of mandamus commanding the Defendants, and their successors in office, to execute their mandatory duties as prescribed under these statutes in all future dealings.
Kingfish note: Sorry for two Pelahatchie posts in one day. This lawsuit was completely unexpected but in retrospect, not surprising. However, the Kingfish does have one little question. Didn't the State Auditor issue a demand against the Mayor as well? Just curious.
25 comments:
That is one hell of a shot across the bow. Assholes are puckering in Pelahatchie tonight.
Don’t be sorry. This is a valuable lesson in how not to run a city. It’s f’ing gold for a reality show. Hollywood would eat this shit up....it’s the hicks versus the colored in front of a confederate state flag. All they’d need is a camera.
Two members of the Board are black. This is not a race thing.
In fact, one of the two most outspoken opponents of the Mayor is Black and I can assure you, he is no tom.
Sounds like Democrats
I'm starting to warm up to this Mayor. Good for her. They need to restore her salary and quit acting like spoiled punks.
He did file a claim against her and the council refused donations to cover it. She has a point and facts to back up the charges ,other towns need to take note. It's way pass time for us to take back what is rightfully ours.
Check out the balls on her! Greater than 50% chance she ends up in a one car fatal accident?
Didn't she spend money on the children's playground without authorization? Hope Shadrack wacks her peepee.
all this makes hinds county look minor league..
Who is paying legal fees and can she take action acting as Mayor with out the approval of the board? What liability does Ross have?
@12:18 AM - only if she has the goods on Hillary.
Wasn't the mayor recently in court for charging $$ to a friend's credit card without the friend's authorization? The fact that it had to go to court & she lost speaks volumes. She isn't the saint that she tries to portray herself as being.
Perhaps the State should look into revolving the town’s charter.
Will the Pelahatchie reality show be on Lifetime, A&E, or Hallmark?
Seems to me the Mayor and Board deserve each other.
Look at all of that money being moved out of the Drug Seizure Fund! No wonder the war on drugs rages on -- cities all over America would have to close up shop for lack of funding.
Bellinder has a great track record of success. [/FAAARRRT].
When the clerk quit it said a lot. 82,000 per year is a lot for that size town.
Well she laid it bare.....
Time for lawyers to get to lawyering!
A 'clerk' in a town that size should be making between 38 and 43K after fifteen years.
2010 census says 1,334 people in Pelahatchie.
She has em right where she wants them. The law is clear she has made restitution for the midssteps she has made, has any of the others ? I don't know. Heads will roll, I doubt hers but others will. If she called Shad it's over. Almost looks like they might be on the same page.
Where is the State Auditor in all of this?
I'm from Northeast Mississippi and really want to go to the next board meeting. Kingfish, can you tell me when it is?
Boy Howdy! When is the next board meeting?!
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