Former Mayor Pleads Guilty, Question about Amount of Restitution
March 7th, 2017 by iPhone
Former Monticello Mayor Zack Tucker accepted a guilty plea in Circuit Court this morning.
Tucker pleaded guilty to the misdemeanor charge of abuse of office.
The charge of tampering with public record was dismissed. The sentence was set at 90 days, with suspended imposition of sentence.
The history of the case dates back to the 2015 and 2016 Arkansas Forestry Festival, where city funds were used to provide entertainment and activities for a privately operated function.
Although this case is closed, there should more charges filed in the near future over a separate $6,500 city check that was also directed to the festival.
There also was a $12,500 check written on the account of the Cornerstone Coalition (which has been reimbursed) without their knowledge. One problem with this case is that $5,000 of the reimbursement was made with a city check.
Tucker resigned from the Mayor’s office, January 17.
The misdemeanor agreement was based on Tucker paying the amount of the misdirected $22,500 back to the city.
The question arose when Hani Hashem, Tucker’s attorney asked that he be given credit for the $8,500 that Tucker contributed to the festival.
Aftef 25 minutes of testimony an ASP investigator and Tucker and discussion, Judge Bynum Gibson stated that he would be announcing his decision.
