Saturday, July 13, 2024

Indianola Ealdormen Busted

 State Auditor Shad White issued the following statement. 

Today State Auditor Shad White announced that Special Agents from his office have served City of Indianola Aldermen Ruben Woods, Marvin Elder, and Sam Brock Jr. with civil demands totaling $42,441.15 after they collectively misappropriated $38,900 in public funds to be paid to Spencer Construction in the absence of a binding, non-void, and enforceable contract.

 

In September 2019, the city of Indianola entered into a contract with Mississippi Home Corporation (MHC) to receive grant funds to be used for rehabilitation and/or reconstruction of homes for low-income homeowners. Indianola contracted with South Delta Planning and Development District (SDPDD) to perform administrative services related to the grant.

 

Spencer Construction entered into a contract for renovations to a residency, which was to be paid for through the MHC grant. However, SDPDD submitted the paperwork requesting payment after the deadline which caused the payment request to be denied.

 

Aldermen Woods, Elder, and Brock Jr. all voted to pay Spencer Construction $38,900 despite the city of Indianola not having any written contract for the work provided. All three have been served with civil demands. No prosecutor has charged any of these individuals with a crime.

 

“It’s vitally important that government officials follow the proper process for spending taxpayer funds. This is what helps guarantee those funds are not misused,” said State Auditor Shad White.

 

Suspected fraud can be reported to the Auditor’s office online at any time by clicking the red button at www.osa.ms.gov or calling 1-(800)-321-1275 during normal business hours.


Kingfish note: Posted below is the demand letter for one Ealdorman.  The amount demanded is the same for the other two Ealdormen. 



16 comments:

Anonymous said...

What is an “ealderman”?

Anonymous said...

"Low hanging fruit" comment in 3, 2, 1...


or

"When is Shad going to audit Jackson?" comment in 3, 2, 1...





Anonymous said...

The City of Jackson is in need of a public works director and a city engineer. I think we’ve found three individuals with the attributes Chokwe is looking for.

Anonymous said...

I guess Shad only goes after people who have no political influence in state politics, until he does so he's just covering his ass

Anonymous said...

Never voting for Shad again.

Anonymous said...

So one state government office screwed up (sdpdd), another state office denied payment due to the screwup (MHC), the aldermen paid the contractor so they wouldn't get a bad rep for non-payment, and then a third state agency (Auditor) slaps the auditors for what appears to be cutting through government bullshit and paying someone what they are owed.

Congrats Shad, that's some fine bureaucracy.

Anonymous said...

Hello, Hello Shad
Look out the window towards Smith-Wills.
Jackson forgave debts illegally, amended a contract retroactively,
lost, never had, used a performance bond for toilet paper.
To quote Joe Biden: Come on man”

Anonymous said...

Kingfish note: Posted below is the demand letter for one Ealdorman.

I never knew an Ealdorman yet who does what is demanded of him.

Anonymous said...

ealdorman /ôl′dər-mən/

noun

The chief magistrate of a district in Anglo-Saxon England. The chief magistrate of a shire in Anglo-Saxon England.

Anonymous said...

2:59 a simple Google search can answer your question.

Anonymous said...

A good city clerk and/or good city attorney would’ve saved them from that mistake

Anonymous said...

330 - first the PDD is not a state office.

So there's that, which blows the rest of your connection out of the water .

Second, MHC is a state agency and did their job properly. They didn't receive application before the deadline, so they denied it. As they should have, following the rules.

Third, the alderpeople ignored state law and decided "what the hell, let's pay the guy with funds we don't have".

There is the weak link.

Hate to say it, but the fourth entiry (the second state agency for those who are counting,unlike 330, dud their job and called out the public players that ignored procurement law, regs, etc and paid their buddy (possibly) to fix their friend's (possibly) house using taxpayer dollars they didn't possess.

Now that the facts have been corrected - what's your beef again?

Kingfish said...

or y'all can watch The Last Kingdom.

Anonymous said...

Shady Shad busy writing book 2 on state time and he has a lot of time now that he’s paying a New England firm a cool 2 million in Mississippi tax payer funds to do his job.

Anonymous said...

11:02am- you are correct. Ole Shad has a record of demanding repayment from folks while he does the same . So, who is going to audit the Auditor?

Anonymous said...

5:15 - You have any idea how the PDDs are funded?


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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!!!

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