Town of Jonesboro mayor Leslie Thompson was found guilty on three counts of malfeasance in office moments ago in a Jackson Parish courtroom.
The six-person jury deliberated for 1 1/2 hours, going into deliberations at 11:40 AM this morning.
Thompson had been charged last February with the following:
Count 1:
On or about June 30, 2007 through June 30, 2012, in violation of La. R.S. 24:513, La. R.S. 24:518, La. R.S. 44:36, and La. R.S. 44:412, he:
1. neglected, failed or refused to furnish the legislative auditor with such papers, accounts, books, documents, films, tapes, and other forms of recordation, including but not limited to computer and recording devices, whether confidential or otherwise, that the legislative auditor has the right to inspect and examine, and
2. denied the legislative auditor access to the office, or to papers, accounts, books, documents, films, tapes, and other forms of recordation, including but not limited to computer and recording devices, whether confidential or otherwise, that he has the right to inspect or examine, and
3. refused, failed, or neglected to transmit to the legislative auditor reports, statements of accounts or other documents upon request as provided by law, and
4. obstructed or impeded, in any manner, the legislative auditor in making the examination authorized by law, and
5. failed to exercise diligence and care in preserving the public records of the Town of Jonesboro for the period or periods of time specified by law for such public records or not preserving and maintaining those records for a period of at least three years from the date on which the public record was made, and
6. failed to establish and maintain an active continuing program for the economical and efficient management of the records of the Town of Jonesboro, and
Count II:
between January 2011 and June 2012, in violation of La. R.S. 14:67, La. R.S. 11:1751, and La. R.S. 11:1732 (13) he misappropriated or took, with the intent to deprive permanently, a thing of value of a value of one thousand five hundred dollars or more, to-wit: public funds belonging to the Town of Jonesboro in the amount of $13,720.75, which belong to another, without the consent of the other to the misappropriation or taking, and by means of fraudulent conduct, practices, or representations, specifically by providing payments of public funds to the the Municipal Employees Retirement system for employees who were not actively employed on a permanent regularly scheduled basis of at least thirty-five hours per week, and
Count III:
between January 2011 and June 2012, in violation of, La. R.S. 14:68 he took or used, without the intent to deprive permanently, a movable, to-wit: public funds belonging to the Town of Jonesboro in the amount of $38,072.06, which belong to another, without the consent of the other to the taking or use, and by means of fraudulent conduct, practices, or representations, specifically by providing payments of public funds for Blue Cross Blue Shield of Louisiana insurance premiums for non-employees of the Town of Jonesboro.
An investigation led by Jackson Parish Sheriff Andy Brown had been ongoing since October of 2010.
LPNO will have additional details as they become available.
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Lincoln Parish News Online 
09/11/2013 at 1:39 pm |
I think the council member who got two checks and cashed both of them needs to be investigated as well….
09/11/2013 at 11:12 pm |
That would be the mayor pro tem, who is sliding right into the mayor’s chair. Lord help us! It’s prayer time now.
09/11/2013 at 11:34 pm |
That would be the mayor pro tem. He will slide right into the mayor’s seat. Lord help us! It’s prayer time.
09/11/2013 at 1:40 pm |
Let me be the first to say thank you to Sheriff Brown and the others involved in getting this matter to court. Also, thanks for answered prayers and hopefully now our town can move forward and again become a place we can be proud of.
09/11/2013 at 1:47 pm |
Felonies?
09/11/2013 at 2:39 pm |
As Sarah Palin would say “Betcha ya.”
09/11/2013 at 1:47 pm |
Yes…thanks be to God….and let’s keep praying ….it is not over….Leslie is not going to step aside without a fight. There will be an appeal…
Watch the new MAYOR Flowers or Cottonham which everone it is…if he decides to drive the town car home every night, he can share a cell with Leslie.
09/11/2013 at 2:04 pm |
Thank you Jury, you put a stop to the injustice, just like the tee shirts asked, “Stop the Injustice”. If the mayor had been charged 4 years ago the injustice would have stopped then.
Thank you Andy Brown for maintaining law and order during the trial.
Cudos to Lea Hall on his prosecution of the case.
Like the Legislative Auditor said, this isn’t a case of black vs white but a case of where is the green!!
09/11/2013 at 2:11 pm |
Thank you Andy Brown, the best thing to happen to Jackson Parish in a long time!
09/11/2013 at 2:25 pm |
Good job Ms. Hall, Mr. Stewart, Sheriff Brown and Law enforcement of Jackson Parish. And also to the jury members and the court as well.
Not the end of the road, I’m afraid. Leslie will appeal, that’s a huge process in and of itself. I think the presiding authorities have their t’s crossed though, so the conviction won’t be overturned. Then sentencing; that’s going to be another process. Through it all, count on one thing; Leslie will cling to any sort of power, privilege, title, and position with bitter tenacity until it is forcibly ripped away from his grubby little hands, and his mad little sycophants will cheer him all the way.
God Bless Jonesboro, I hope this is the start of a resolution to this crisis.
09/11/2013 at 2:38 pm |
The appeal should come after the sentence has been rendered. His lawyer will say it was an unfair trial because no blacks were on the jury; that it was unfair because Teat is white; that it was an unfair trial because all of her objections were overruled; that it was unfair because had he not been caught doing wrong he would have never been charged; and oh, yeh. Everyone was out to get him because he was black ignoring the fact that he was just plain stupid and incompetent. If the new mayor has to come from the aldermen (and not an election) then my vote is for Renee because she has been the only one to show honesty and dignity. The rest are just little Les Lies. And where is my picture of the Convicted CTIC in handcuffs doing the perp walk?
09/11/2013 at 2:36 pm |
Is Leslie OUT OF OFFICE today????
09/11/2013 at 2:52 pm |
According to KTVE 10 he relinquished his duties as mayor to whomever the aldermen select. But to show how ballsy he is, he drove away in the town car after posting $150000 bail. For the good of the town I hope the aldermen choose Renee. She is the only one on that panel who has shown concern for the town and kept to her honesty and dignity through out this process. Golly, Gee. Can’t wait until November to see if Teat possesses a pair and sentences Les Lie to jail and fines him. He probably won’t though. I see a fine and probation. Boo Teat!
09/11/2013 at 2:39 pm |
We need to thank Judge Teat, too! He did a great job and kept order in his courtroom.
09/11/2013 at 2:40 pm |
Oh my, I just thought of something. What in the world are the four blind mice on the council going to do now? They might have to think for themselves, although I’m not sure that any of them are capable of that. Without Leslie there to tell them to breath, they might just up and die. Heaven forbid.
09/11/2013 at 2:41 pm |
There are three council members who committed malfeasance by voting for and then paying the mayor his raise that the judge said was not properly presented. They need to go also!!
09/11/2013 at 2:48 pm |
Sentence should mirror the time he was in office since his corruption began with his inauguration party at the town’s expense and ends with his illegal payment of attorney fees.
Six years at hard labor would be justice!
09/11/2013 at 2:53 pm |
Willie and the mayor in orange jumpsuits should make a memorable photo. Only thing better would be Cottonham, Mason and Flowers in the pic, smile.
09/11/2013 at 3:55 pm |
Hope Renee is elected as Jonesboro’s interim mayor. We know of her straightforward honesty. Lots of kudos to her these past years. Other bimbos left standing…….absolutely not. If one of those-snakes-in-the- grass should be chosen, they WILL BE WATCHED every step of the way.
09/11/2013 at 7:15 pm |
No appeals court is going to overturn a verdict that was unanimous, and an appeal based on race will fail because Thompson’s legal representatives helped select the six jurors.
09/11/2013 at 7:17 pm |
Will just mean Thompson will have to shell out more of that raise money to pay a couple of lawyers for another losing effort.
09/11/2013 at 8:13 pm |
Tax payers will pay for the appeal…
09/11/2013 at 9:12 pm |
Ding dong, the witch is dead!
09/11/2013 at 9:53 pm |
Donald, believe you had an extra zero on the bail amount. KTVE said it was $15,000 bail?
09/12/2013 at 6:31 am |
Sorry for the mistake. My fingers believe that the bail should have been $150,000.
09/11/2013 at 9:57 pm |
Why would taxpayers pay for a personal appeal? He had to relinquish his duties as mayor, so he is just a citizen for now, just like he told Renee she was when she was not at a council meeting.
09/12/2013 at 12:14 am |
Why don’t you shut up ” CAMERA LOVER ” you just love being on tv don’t you !
09/12/2013 at 9:39 pm |
Huh???
09/12/2013 at 12:53 am |
You can post your opinion without curse words. That is a shocking and horrible, vulgar word. Shame on you. Besides that, you are also wrong. I hope your ugly word post is deleted.
09/12/2013 at 9:41 pm |
To which word are you referring?
09/12/2013 at 12:54 am |
Your use of curse words are as sad as your comment. If you can’t intelligently articulate your thoughts, log off.
09/12/2013 at 10:01 pm |
I’m glad to see a few feathers were ruffled. Now as I previously stated, this was not a case of malfeasance, it was clearly a case of race. The charges were trumped up by the previous mayor because Thompson received double his salary. The state of the Town was already in shambles before Thompson took office. Jonesboro was already reminiscent of a third world country before Leslie took the oath of office. Thompson did not fix into the “good ol boy system of Horton, Teat, and Stringer,” so he had to be ousted. The Town’s board, staff, and previous administrations are just as guilty as he is for the poor condition of Joneaboro.
09/13/2013 at 1:54 pm |
Do you mean the previous mayor (any mayor) of some backwoods town in North LA has any political pull in the Capitol…enough pull to have a hi-priced investigation undertaken at their behest? I don’t buy it. I do not see this as a trial abt the poor condition of the town. To me I was a trial about a person disobeying the law. No matter what shape the town was in under other admintration’s they had a clear audit each year. There has not been EVEN ONE clear audit since the newly convicted mayor took office. That is the only black and white issue I see…what is in print in the audit.
09/12/2013 at 1:00 am |
So pleased with the verdict. It was time to stop the insanity. I don’t care if the mayor (any) is red, white, black or purple, wrong is wrong. Malfeasance was proven beyond a reasonable doubt, thus the unanimous verdict. Let’s pray Jonesboro can be restored to its former glory. Renee Stringer for mayor…that’s all I’m saying. Praying for Jonesboro and ALL the residents of all races, sexes, professions, etc.
09/12/2013 at 7:24 am |
Geez…I missed the ugly post…did it sound like a Leslie Lover?
09/12/2013 at 8:38 pm |
He was and he used the “f” word. There’s no sense in that. Glad to see both cursng posts got deleted. I know everyone doesn’t agree but, use your decency, people!
09/17/2013 at 3:08 am |
ANONYMOUS SAYS THE MAYOR WAS DISHONEST BEFOR BEING ELECTED. HAD NO BUSINESS BEING ELECTED. HE SHOULD GO TO JAIL FOR A WHILE. CHECK HIS TRACK RECORD.