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Madden pleads to theft of more than $750,000 of taxpayer money

Minutes before the Franklin County Courthouse closed early due to severe weather concerns Monday afternoon, former Franklin County Administrator Crista Madden pled guilty to two felony ethics charges and stealing more than $750,000 from the taxpayers of Franklin County.

Madden pled guilty before special-appointed judge Pride Tompkins, a retired circuit judge from Colbert County. The case was handled by the Alabama Attorney General's Office and Madden was represented by attorney Ralph Holt of Florence.

The public became aware of the investigation on March 5, 2018, when the Franklin Free Press published an article that told of financial records of Franklin County dating back to 2007 being seized by investigators with the Attorney General's office that day.

Madden resigned from her county administrator position August 31, 2017, to take the same position with Chilton County. The Chilton County Commission placed Madden on administrative leave March 5, after an executive session at an emergency meeting. Madden was removed from all county bank accounts and another employee was added as the new authorized signature on those accounts.

Madden began working for Franklin County on September 1, 1992, when she was hired as county accountant. She became assistant county administrator on October 1, 2005. Madden was appointed as County Administrator by Franklin County Probate Judge Barry Moore on October 1, 2009. Madden is the daughter of Franklin County Commissioner Rayburn Massey.

Moore, who was the official who reported the financial discrepancies to law enforcement authorities, released a statement Monday afternoon:

Several weeks ago, I was made aware of some discrepancies in our financial records that needed to be analyzed to check for any instances of wrongdoing,” Moore said. “I immediately contacted the Department of Examiners and I, along with the rest of our staff, have cooperated fully with this investigation. Now that the investigation has concluded, and our former county administrator has taken responsibility for her errors in judgment, I want to express my thanks to the Alabama Attorney General's Office for handling this case and reaching a quick resolution.

Also I appreciate those who have been supportive throughout this process and who understand that things like this aren't as simple as they might seem. The county commission, just like any other business, has checks and balances in place, such as audits, to try and prevent instances like this. However, the nature of how these events took place allowed for the discrepancies to go undetected. I will be working with our staff, county commissioners and others to see how we can more effectively strengthen our checks and balances and our ways for reviewing financial records so that something like this will not occur again in the future. As an employer, it is never easy to discover that someone who works for you has engaged in behavior that compromises the integrity of your business or office, which I know many people feel has happened in this instance. It's even harder to learn of instances such as this when you work closely with your employees and consider them to also be friends.

Because of this, the events that have taken place over the last few weeks have been very difficult for me personally as well as the county commission. However, I believe it was of the utmost importance and my duty to the citizens of Franklin County to set aside my personal feelings and any negative effects this could have on me professionally, especially in light of the upcoming elections and to make sure this instance of impropriety was investigated immediately and that the truth was brought to light. Honesty, integrity and doing what is right will always be my top priorities, not just as Probate Judge of Franklin County, but as a person. These are values I hold in the highest regard and as long as I am serving the people of Franklin County, these are values I will fight to make sure are also emulated by others who serve our county. And if it is discovered these values are not being upheld, I will always do what is necessary to make sure truth and transparency are restored.”

Very little public information was released relating to the Madden investigation. Chilton County Commission Chairman Allen Caton released a statement March 5 that said his commission was made aware of Madden being the subject of an ongoing investigation by the attorney general's office.

The terms of Madden's plea were as follows: She pled guilty on information to two counts of intentionally violating the Alabama Ethics Law. The first count was Ala. Code Sec. 36-25-5(a), Use of Official Position for Personal Gain. The second county, Ala. Code Sec. 36-25-5(c) was Use of Equipment for Personal Gain.

Both are Class B felonies that carry a prison sentence from two to 20 years and a fine up to $30,000. Madden will be sentenced at a later date.

A plea upon information means the defendant is pleading to a felony charge before the case is presented to a grand jury.

Franklin County District Attorney Joey Rushing said his office did not handled the Madden case and he was not consulted regarding the matter.

As part of the plea, Madden waived any issues for appeal and agreed that sentencing would be left to the “sound discretion of the court.”

Restitution will be ordered in the amount of $753,889.21 and payable to the County of Franklin, Alabama. The plea did not specifically mention whether Madden would be required to pay interest on the stolen funds.

Madden resigned from her position as a public employee and agreed to never again seek or accept employment or enter into any relationship or contract with a governmental agency in the State of Alabama.

Interestingly, the plea agreement noted that the State agreed to two terms and conditions that could affect Madden's sentence. First, as stated in the plea, “The State will ask the Court to take into consideration at sentencing the cooperation of the Defendant.” Secondly, “The State will not seek additional charges from the same nucleus of operative facts,” meaning Madden won't face any additional charges other than the two felonies she pled to.

According to court documents, Madden's crimes date back to December 15, 2007 and ran through July 27, 2017, one month before she left her position in Franklin County.

The scheme used by Madden was as follows: As County Administrator, she would create false purchase orders and generate checks made payable to the business listed on the false purchase order. Before printing the checks, Madden placed tape over the space where the payee name was to be printed. She then printed the check to the company and made copies of the check for the county records.

Madden would then remove the tape and reprint the payee section making the check payable to herself. Madden, according to the information, deposited the checks into “various checking accounts” in her name.

Over the 10 year period, the scheme totaled $753,889.21 of county funds. The theft was discovered by the State of Alabama Department of Examiners of Public Accounts and investigated by special agents with the AG's office.

Madden, according to court documents, confessed fully to both offenses.

Madden turned herself in to Franklin County Sheriff Shannon Oliver's office Monday morning. After being booked and processed, she was released on $10,000 bond, Oliver said.

 

 

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