AG Joins Suit Against California
MONTGOMERY— Attorney General Luther Strange has joined a lawsuit to stop California from imposing on Alabama and other states its own standards requiring that eggs may be sold only from chickens that live in roomy, larger-than-normal cages. Alabama is one of the top 15 largest egg producers in the United States, with production totaling 2.139 million eggs in 2012, according to statistics from the U.S Department of Agriculture. Many of these eggs are sold in other states, including California.
“In Alabama, consumers are free to make their own choice of which eggs to buy at their grocery stores, and it is preposterous and quite simply wrong for California to tell Alabama how we must produce eggs,” said Attorney General Strange. “This is not an animal-welfare issue; it is about California’s attempt to protect its economy from its own job-killing laws by extending those laws to everyone else in the country.”
In 2008, voters in California passed a proposition requiring that its own egg producers provide either free ranges or larger cages for hens. After alarms were raised that this would put California’s egg producers at an economic disadvantage with producers in other states, provisions were added to extend this mandate to any eggs imported from other states to be sold in California. The law was expressly touted as a way to provide economic protection to California egg producers in an interstate market.
“The citizens of California made a choice for their own state, and when they realized it would harm their egg producers, they made an unconstitutional decision to spread the damage to other States,” said Attorney General Strange. “If California can get away with this, it won’t be long before the environmentalists in California tell us how we must build cars, grow crops, and raise cattle too.”
Attorney General Strange and the Attorneys General of Missouri, Nebraska, and Oklahoma, and the Governor of Iowa are asking the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California to declare California’s law invalid and to stop its enforcement. They argue that California’s law is a violation of the Commerce and Supremacy Clauses of the U.S. Constitution and the Federal Egg Products Inspection Act. Currently the law is set to go into effect on January 1, 2015.
AG Announces Guilty Pleas in Elmore County for Coroner, Funeral Home Director
MONTGOMERY— Attorney General Luther Strange announced the convictions recently of Elmore County Coroner Timothy Ellison and Yancey Joe Mitchell III, director of Hillside Mortuary in Wetumpka. The convictions stem from Ellison submitting inflated charges to the county, state and several municipal entities for reimbursement in transporting bodies. Mitchell assisted Ellison by providing false paperwork.
Ellison pleaded guilty to a felony violation of the state ethics law by using his official position for personal gain, to second-degree theft, also a felony, and to third-degree theft, which is a misdemeanor. Ellison’s guilty plea included $7,913 in restitution to be made to the various public entities from which he stole. Ellison is scheduled to be sentenced on April 9. Under State law, a public official convicted of a felony is ineligible to hold public office.
Mitchell pleaded guilty to third-degree theft of property by aiding and abetting Ellison in his crimes. He was sentenced to 12 months probation and ordered to pay a $250 fine and court costs.
Under state law, a coroner has the responsibility to transport bodies from a crime scene to the Department of Forensic Sciences or to a funeral home. The coroner may be reimbursed for actual expenses in doing so. Ellison submitted inflated invoices for his costs, and Mitchell aided and abetted him with false invoices to support Ellison’s wrongful claims.
“I am pleased that this prosecution put an end to the crimes of a corrupt public official who betrayed the public trust and stole taxpayers’ money,” said Attorney General Strange. “Today, Ellison and his accomplice have been held to account for their wrongdoing. With the conclusion of this case when Ellison is sentenced, we expect that the stolen funds will be restored to their rightful public entities.”
Attorney General Strange commended those involved in bringing this case to a successful conclusion, noting in particular Assistant Attorneys General Bill Lisenby and Pete Smyczek, and Special Agents of his Special Prosecutions Division. He also thanked the Elmore County Sheriff’s Office and the police departments of Wetumpka, Millbrook and Tallassee for their assistance, and the State Ethics Commission for its referral of this matter.
AG ANNOUNCES CONVICTION OF FORMER AUTAUGA COUNTY OFFICIAL
(MONTGOMERY)–Attorney General Luther Strange today announced the conviction of a former chairman of the Autauga County Commission for crimes he committed related to additional positions he also formerly held as chief of the Autaugaville Volunteer Fire Department and head of the Autaugaville Water Works. Danny Chavers, of Prattville, pleaded guilty this morning in Autauga County Circuit Court to five felony charges, two for violations of the state ethics law and three for first-degree theft.
Sentencing is set for May 14. The ethics violations and first-degree theft charges are class B felonies, punishable by two to 20 years imprisonment and fines of up to $30,000.00 for each count.
“These are serious crimes involving extensive betrayal of the public trust and theft of taxpayers’ money,” said Attorney General Strange. “I am pleased that this defendant stands convicted for these violations, but I hope that he will meet with a punishment fitting of what he has done. At the time of sentencing, we will seek jail time as well as restitution.”
Related charges still are pending against Ernest Terry Stoudemire of Autaugaville also former chief of the Autaugaville VFD; and Mack Cell Harmon of Autaugaville, is a former assistant chief of the Autaugaville VFD. Attorney General Strange’s Special Prosecutions Division presented evidence to an Autauga County grand jury on November 5, 2013, resulting in indictments* against the three.
Chavers was convicted for illegal activities related to his positions with the Autaugaville VFD and Water Works. Specifically, Chavers pleaded guilty to three counts of first-degree theft, from the Autauga County Commission, the Autaugaville Volunteer Fire Department, and the State of Alabama; and two counts of ethics violation, by using his official positions as chief of the Autaugaville Volunteer Fire Department and head of Autaugaville Water Works for unlawful personal gain.
Chavers’ crimes were described by the prosecution in court today as follows: As chief of the Autaugaville VFD, Chavers used his office to obtain personal gain for himself by using money in the VFD account for personal purchases such as merchandise from Victoria’s Secret, restaurants and hotels in Florida, gas stations, online gambling and a casino in Mississippi, in the amount of more than $240,000. Regarding the theft from the State of Alabama, Chavers falsified documentation in order to obtain a $4800 grant, placed these grant funds in the VFD account, and continued to make personal purchases with this money. Also, Chavers used his position as head of the Autaugaville Water Works to obtain two checks totaling $49,000 from the Autauga County Commission, which was supposed to go to the town of Autaugaville but which Chavers instead placed in the VFD fund and continued to use for personal purchases.
No further information about the investigation or about the other defendants’ alleged crimes other than that stated in the indictment may be released at this time.
Attorney General Strange commended Assistant Attorney General Bill Lisenby and Special Agents of his Special Prosecutions Division for their outstanding work in these cases.
AG ANNOUNCES CONVICTION OF FORMER FUND CUSTODIAN FOR THEFT FROM DEPARTMENT OF REHABILITATIVE SERVICES
(MONTGOMERY)— Attorney General Luther Strange today announced the conviction of a former fund custodian for the Alabama Department of Rehabilitation Services for the theft of $339,314 from the agency’s local Birmingham office. Erica Fredrose Johnson, 39, of Birmingham, pleaded guilty in Jefferson County Circuit Court on Monday to first-degree theft of property.
Johnson was sentenced to 32 months, which was suspended for a term of five years supervised probation, and ordered to pay $75,000 in restitution to the Birmingham Rehabilitation Revolving Fund and $263,514 to the agency’s insurance company, Fidelity and Deposit Company of Maryland Insurance. Previously, Johnson had repaid $800 to the insurance company.
“This woman not only betrayed the citizens of Alabama, by whom she was employed and whose money she stole, but she also exploited those in need that the Birmingham Rehabilitation Revolving Fund was meant to serve,” said Attorney General Strange. “I am pleased that Erica Fredrose Johnson has been held to account for her crime and that the money is being repaid.”
The defendant was employed as the fund custodian from 2005 until her resignation in 2012. During this time, she wrote a total of 280 checks from the revolving fund to pay personal accounts as well as to provide money to her family and friends. When she received bank statements which contained the images of checks written from the fund’s account she would alter the check images to give the appearance that the check was written to a legitimate creditor.
The Attorney General’s Criminal Trials Division presented evidence to a Jefferson County grand jury, resulting in Johnson’s indictment in December of 2013. Attorney General Strange commended Assistant Attorney General Ternisha Miles and thanked the Alabama Bureau of Investigation.
