News - Local

Friday, Nov. 06, 2009

Worker accused of stealing from county

More than $125K missing for ’09

PASCAGOULA — Jackson County sheriff’s deputies Friday arrested a county employee, Ginger Lynn Lashley, 49, on a charge of embezzlement and called in the state Auditor’s Office to continue the investigation.

Lashley worked for the county Finance Department, where more than $125,000 was found to be missing for 2009.

Sheriff Mike Byrd said they expect auditors to find considerably more missing.

“That’s why we’re having the State Auditor come in,” Byrd said Friday evening.

He said Lashley was in the county jail Friday night, awaiting an initial appearance in county court on Monday. Lashley lives in the 6900 block of Pinehurst Drive, in the St. Andrews area of south Jackson County.

Earlier in the day, county officials issued a statement that an internal investigation into the “alleged misappropriation of county funds” had turned up money missing.

The statement said that a county employee had been suspended.

“We are pursuing this matter fully,” Manly Barton, president of the county Board of Supervisors, said in a statement. We have several financial checks and balances in place, nonetheless this situation did occur. We are going to take all the appropriate steps to keep this from happening again. As public servants, our first responsibility is to be good stewards of the taxpayer’s money.”