DATE: February 15, 2013
Indianola Municipal Court Deputy Clerk Sentenced for Embezzlement
(Jackson, Miss.) – Today, State Auditor Stacey Pickering announced that former Indianola Municipal Court Deputy Clerk Tina Parker was sentenced on Monday, February 11, 2013, after previously pleading guilty to embezzlement. As part of the plea agreement, approved by Circuit Judge Margaret Carey-McCray, Parker was ordered to repay $35,000.00 in restitution, $982.50 in court costs, $300.00 in attorney fees, and a $20.00 bond fee over the next seven years at a rate of $200.00 per month and $2,500.00 per year from her income tax return. In addition, Parker received a seven year non-adjudicated sentence, which includes five years Supervised Probation and two years Unsupervised Probation.
In the course of the investigation the Auditor’s office found that there was $51,244.33 missing for which Parker was responsible. Following notification of the court order, Parker was served with a civil demand for $66,118.18 which included the full amount that was embezzled, $51,244.33, Interest, $3,534.05, and Investigative costs, $11,339.80. “I appreciate the hard work of District Attorney Dwayne Richardson although, once again, I am disappointed that a public employee who has betrayed the public’s trust has received a non-adjudicated sentence,” said State Auditor Stacey Pickering.
Elected as Mississippi’s 41st State Auditor in 2007, Stacey Pickering was re-elected as State Auditor in 2011 receiving over 75 percent of the vote in the November General Election. Since 2008, Pickering has recovered more than $8 million in embezzled, misspent or misappropriated funds. He is a seventh generation Mississippian from Jones County. Auditor Pickering currently serves on the Domestic Working Group for the Office of the Comptroller General of the United States. He also serves on the Financial Management and Intergovernmental Affairs and Performance Audit Committees for the National Association of State Auditors, Comptrollers and Treasurers and is a member of the National State Auditors Association. Throughout his political career, Pickering has made tremendous strides in creating more accountability and transparency in government and continues to promote fiscal responsibility and the need for more efficiency and productivity in government. For more information on Stacey Pickering, visit www.osa.state.ms.us/auditors-bio.htm
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Magnolia Tribune
