A small town mayor in Georgia is behind bars after a lame attempt to get in good graces with a shocking group of people.
A state prison work crew.
According to local affiliate WRDW-TV, Thomson, GA Mayor Benjamin “Benji” Cary Cranford faces felony charges alleging that he illegally stashed a bottle of gin in a ditch for a state prison work crew to access.
Cranford, 52, was indicted on Wednesday and arrested by Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI) agents on felony charges of furnishing prohibited items to inmates and attempt to commit a felony, according to the outlet.
The indictment, issued in McDuffie County Superior Court, accuses Cranford of driving to a store on June 3, purchasing a bottle of Seagram’s Extra Dry Gin and leaving it in a ditch along Cobbham Road in Thomson, Georgia, in the path of a work crew of state prisoners from the Jefferson County Correctional Institution.
Cranford was taken into custody at Thomson City Hall by GBI agents following a city council meeting and booked into the McDuffie County Jail, according to the local outlet.
He was released Wednesday on $5,000 bail.
“As we understand the charges in this case are not related to Mr. Cranford’s duties as an elected official, we do not have a comment,” city spokesperson Jason Smith said in a statement.
Cranford could be subject to suspension from office until the charges are resolved if a panel recommends to Georgia Republican Gov. Brian Kemp that the charges could hinder Cranford’s ability to serve as mayor. Some other officials had previously been suspended when they were slapped with felony charges that were not directly related to their office.
Cranford took office earlier this year after defeating incumbent Kenneth Usry in the election last year.
But this apparently isn’t his first time dealing with scandal.
According to the Associated Press (AP), earlier this month, Cranford, a former paving contractor, settled a lawsuit filed months before he ran for office accusing him of attempting to hide assets from a bonding company that was stepping in to pay some of Cranford’s company’s debts amid financial troubles to ensure large-scale projects undertaken by Cranford’s company would be completed.