Friday, December 15, 2000
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Friday, December 15, 2000 |
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Newly-elected clerk indicted on theft charges By JOHN THOMPSON Election officials are trying to determine if the newly elected clerk of Superior Court can be sworn into office next month after the Coweta County Grand Jury indicted her this week on several theft counts. Mary Jane Thompson, who worked in the clerk's office before she was elected, was indicted on 18 counts, including 13 charges of theft by conversiona, four altering public records counts and a violation of oath of office charge. Coweta District Attorney Pete Skandalakis began his investigation into the clerk's office last February after Clerk of Court Joan Griffies reported missing funds from her office. "The very next day I referred the matter to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation. I have steadfastly maintained that politics, primaries and elections were of no concern to me," he said. Thompson was indicted for allegedly converting more than $8,400 of court funds to her own private use while employed at the clerk's office. Thompson resigned from her position last spring and successfully beat Griffies for the clerk's job in last July's election. Griffies has maintained that politics has played no role in the matter and that she merely wanted to find out where the money went. Skandalakis received a report from the GBI in October and determined there was enough evidence to take it to the Coweta County Grand Jury. "Given the circumstances, I considered time to be of the essence and, accordingly, I asked for a special session of the Coweta County Grand Jury," he said. The district attorney said that Coweta County's integrity is on the line. "An indictment has been handed down, and now the integrity of the Coweta Judicial Circuit demands that Ms. Thompson be criminally prosecuted for the offenses listed in the indictment," he said. Thompson could not be reached for comment.
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