FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
NEWS RELEASE
June 22, 2016
For More Information, contact:
Luther Strange
Mike Lewis (334) 353-2199
Alabama Attorney General
Joy Patterson (334) 242-7491
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AG STRANGE ANNOUNCES CONVICTION OF FORMER
GOODWATER CITY CLERK FOR THEFT OF PROPERTY
(MONTGOMERY) – Attorney General Luther Strange announced the conviction today
of a former city clerk of the City of Goodwater. Leslie S. Parker, 27, pleaded guilty to
one count of theft of property in the first degree. The Coosa County Circuit Court
sentenced her to 46 months in prison, suspended, and 5 years of probation. The Court
also ordered Parker to pay $264,181.44 in restitution to the City of Goodwater.
Parker’s conviction was based on evidence that she manipulated the City’s
payroll system to pay herself more than her salary, from 2013 until December 2015.
Although she was entitled to sick leave, holidays, and vacation time, she was not
entitled to convert those to pay, and she was not entitled to overtime pay. She entered
false hours in those categories into the City’s payroll system in order to increase her
paycheck. She also wrote and cashed checks to herself from the City’s account and
wrote a check to a third party for her own benefit.
Attorney General Strange’s Special Prosecutions Division presented evidence to
a Coosa County grand jury, resulting in Parker’s indictment on April 29, 2016. Parker
was previously arrested on a related charge on December 17, 2015, following a citizen
complaint and subsequent investigation by the Attorney General’s Special Prosecutions
Division.
“This defendant has been held accountable for gross misuse of her public
position for personal gain, and she is now required to pay back the money she stole
from the taxpayers of Goodwater,” said Attorney General Strange. “This case arose
from the vigilance of a concerned citizen, and was completed through the dedicated
hard work of those in our Special Prosecutions Division.”
Attorney General Strange commended those involved in bringing this case to a
successful conclusion, noting in particular Assistant Attorney General Megan
Kirkpatrick and Special Agents of his Special Prosecutions Division. He also thanked
the Coosa County Sheriff’s Office for its assistance.
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501 Washington Avenue * Montgomery, AL 36104 * (334) 242-7300
www.ago.state.al.us
