ALCORN COUNTY, Miss.- A member of the Alcorn County Board of Supervisors, purchasing clerk and three county vendors have been arrested on corruption charges after a year-long investigation by the State Auditor’s Office.
The investigation has resulted in the filing of 259 criminal charges for taking part in various conspiracies designed to and resulting in the embezzlement of public funds.
“The taxpayers of Alcorn County should be incensed that an elected official and a county employee were literally ‘cooking the books’ with the aid and assistance of three local residents,” State Auditor Stacey Pickering said in a press release. “This is one of the most elaborate cases of fraud I’ve seen since becoming State Auditor.”
An Alcorn County Grand Jury issued copious arrest warrants Tuesday against District Two Supervisor Jimmy Dallan (Dal) Nelms, Purchase Clerk William Paul Rhodes, and county vendors Jimmy Ray Mitchell, Joseph Lin McNair, Jr., and Danny Roy Peters.
Supervisor Jimmy Dallan “Dal” Nelms is charged with 156 felony counts, including embezzlement and fraudulently obtaining public funds. Pickering says Nelms is accused of several illegal actions, including receiving payments from a vendor who sold heavy equipment to the county.
Purchasing clerk William Paul Rhodes is charged with 13 felony counts, including conspiracy to commit embezzlement and hindering prosecution.
The three vendors are charged with more than two dozen counts each, including fraudulently obtaining public funds.
