Jackson Jambalaya

Its going to cost more in taxpayer dollars than its worth to prosecute her. just plea down to a misdemeanor, pay a fine, move on.

No. I am glad Shad is doing this.

People who have been blessed to live in the United States for generations do not understand the constant, inescapable anger, despair, anxiety and frustration of the Third World where you are constantly under vigilance of being robbed and taken advantage of in any context or scenario.

The Third World can be a place where institutions that should be respected and trusted, things like banks, utilities, steal from people without consequences. It perpetuates just a base level acceptance of Third World conditions and crime because even institutions are corrupt.

America is an incredibly amazing country where we can send cash in our mailbox and expect it generally to get to where it is supposed to go. That is what makes America incredible! The type of crime that Lisa committed is especially heinous, because it stabs at the fabric of our society. It makes us question whether we can go to our water utility and pay cash and expect it to go towards our water bill.

It is sick when we take advantage of people's trust in that way. If we can't trust our institutions, then everything else starts to fall apart. It's incredible we live in a country and in a State where this type of behavior is not tolerated.

Nah. It will likely just appear as a docket item, a judge will find her guilty, and she will write them a check for that $2,136. Unless she has priors, no jail time and possibly even no fine.

Sardis to Tunica Casinos..only 52 miles!

Why not add Cost of Prosecution to the fine (if she is convicted, of course)?

11:05, it’s not as simplistic as that. You’ve got to include the taxpayer dollars she might embezzle in the future and the deterrence factor that prevents other taxpayer money from being embezzled by other officials.

11:05 - and that's the answer, eh? it's too expensive so let's reduce the consequence to a fine. ever think that that's what's wrong with all of these idiots in the first place? that it'll turn into nothing so why not do it? wtf is wrong with people like you?

Once again, Shad needs to be more detailed about how these people are doing these things. The word would actually be transparent. He doesn't have to try the case, but the people need to know more to see the justification. I want people that steal prosecuted. I don't want my tax dollars spent prosecuting someone that stole time off the clock. We can deal with that in house, and it won't cost the people $50,000.

11:05, your idea is about the same as California’s experiment with making shoplifting under $1,000 a misdemeanor. It’s not going so well.

Can anyone make a logical reason as to why the investigative costs are identical as the amount stolen? There is no way they are the same unless there's some statute that says "the cost of recovery can't be more than the cost of the amount stolen" or some such verbiage and Shad is just putting the max on it and rolling.

She nose she's in trouble.

This is not a "low-hanging fruit" comment - I'm not taking issue with the investigation or arrest. Shad White having his staff write and issue press releases on this kind of thing is exactly like Sean Tindell having his staff issue press releases every time a Trooper writes a speeding ticket or arrests someone for DUI.

And before anyone goes there, there is no reasonable argument that these releases "serve as a warning..." because there is no reasonable argument that other folks in these types of roles didn't already know taking cash they knew they were not entitled to take could get them into trouble. Just as Tindell doesn't need to have his staff issue releases to warn folks that speeding could result in a ticket or DUI could result in an arrest.

The really good news is that Shad and his crack squad of investigators didn't find another Mississippi RICO!

The people are starting to see that Tate Reeves and Shad White won't allow corruption to exist in Mississippi!

“My office will continue to crack down on cases big and small and ensure that taxpayer money is spent properly,” said State Auditor Shad White."

Many Mississippians are wondering what Shad considers a "big case".

@1:05 PM, WRONG! Shad has let former Pearl PD Chief Dean Scott steal thousands of dollars while he was Chief, by having a no show job with the Rankin County Tax Assessors Office. Scott and the former mayor of Richland both are guilty . After a thorough investigation instead of arresting both (which like this lady his special agents have no problem doing), the case was turned over to the Rankin County DA, who quickly handed the case over to the State Attorney General’s Office, where it will go to die, with no action taken. Corruption In Rankin County is wide spread but those doing the stealing are part of the group in power, from the governor on down.
KF can you please find out where this case stands?

"Once again, Shad needs to be more detailed about how these people are doing these things."

Once again, it's not the job of the State Auditor to draw a diagram for you explaining how these embezzlements occur.

But allow me to help. If I'm working the drawer the day you come in and pay $169 for your water bill, I pocket the cash and mark your account paid, in the computer system. There is no segregation of duties and no internal audit procedure.

So, apparently Shad CAN go after employees of city water departments. When are you going to go after the City of Jackson’s crooked water employees? That would be pretty low hanging fruit.

12:47, this case certainly does “serve as a warning”. You are correct that everyone already knows they could get in trouble for embezzlement, but the constant press releases with mug shots lets everyone know their chances of getting away with it may not be as good as they thought or as good as they used to be.

The CoJ no longer has a monopoly on "no show" jobs. Oh wait, since MS no longer requires driving tests for new applicants, what happened to those examiners?

Let’s see the detailed receipts and other documentation supporting the costs of investigation that just so happen to equal the principal amount of the crime.

"... but the constant press releases with mug shots lets everyone know their chances of getting away with it may not be as good as they thought or as good as they used to be."

Yeah, right. Just like those who drive drunk, rob liquor stores and gas stations, have addictions, or one or more of those things, they do not run an in-depth risk analysis, they simply tell themselves they will not get caught, they are in some degree of addiction tailspin, they just do not care, or some combination. Moreover, it would be fair to say there is not a single lucid adult in the US that needs a press release from Shad to learn that jails and prisons across the US are full of people who did not plan on getting caught.

It would also be fair to assume for the purpose of calculating the ROI on spending state money on the salaries and benefits expended on the staff who write and distribute these releases that a lot of these folks are not regular and close followers of minor bits of statewide news. Arguable possible consequences for him aside, such releases are a waste of public resources. I'll leave it to each reader to decide for themselves what his motive might be.

And why can't we put in these positions come open by corrupt citizens some of our new citizens, those who have entered the country illegally? From all I have heard, they are extremely hard-working and only want a better life here in God's Second Eden. Give them the chance they deserve and a leg up, America.