Touched by the grand jury - Republican Rep. Brian Aldridge reportedly indicted for embezzlement

Rep. Brian Aldridge (R - Tupelo)

Fresh on the heels of what longtime Mississippi political observers called "one of the most unethical moves" in recent history by the Republican dominated state Ethics Commission, the Mississippi Republican Party has another scandal to deal with.  Rep. Brian Aldridge (R - Tupelo) reportedly turned himself in this morning after being notified he had been indicted for embezzlement by the Lee County grand jury.  From the Daily Journal:

The charges stem from a 2008 lawsuit filed against the Aldridges by Florence Aldridge, the widow of Louis’ brother. She came to Tupelo in 2005 after her husband’s death after Louis and Janice promised to care for her while she suffered deep depression complicated by bipolar disorder.  

From 2003 to mid-2008, she granted Louis durable power of attorney to look after her assets while she could not.  

But in 2008, she discovered all her nearly $700,000 assets and family treasures were gone. 

Today, 68-year-old Florence Aldridge is believed to be living in a nursing home. Until her health failed again, she lived in Tupelo and taught piano lessons

After lengthy legal proceedings in 2011, Chancellor Michael Malski termed Louis Aldridge’s behavior “monumental impropriety and malfeasance” and ordered him to repay Florence $552,000. He also ordered his former charity, Touched By An Angel Ministries Inc., to come up with $140,000 Louis directed to it while he held Florence’s power of attorney.

Brian Aldridge is chief executive officer of the charity, which operated a camp for disabled children and adults. His father once was its chief financial officer.

This was ugly back in 2011 when it first came to light, and I imagine will get uglier before it gets better.

Personal note - Politics aside, I do hope Rep. Aldridge isn't guilty of these charges, and I hate to see anyone go through this process, even if he votes wrong all the time.

Rep. Aldridge ordered to repay $218,355 to elderly aunt

Late last summer, news broke that Rep. Brian Aldridge (R-Tupelo) had been accussed of misusing funds belonging to his elderly aunt, Florence Aldridge.  At the conclusion of trial in December, Chancellor Michael Malski entered an order requiring Aldridge's parents to repay $552,000 and Aldridge's charity, Touched by an Angel Ministries, Inc., to repay $140,100.

Florence Aldridge's attorneys returned to court asking that the judge personally include Rep. Aldridge in the judgment.  On Wednesday, this request was granted.  Chancellor Malski has entered an order requiring Rep. Aldridge to pay $218,355 to his aunt.  The Judge wrote, "Brian breached his duty as an officer of Touched By An Angel Ministries, Inc. and is individually liable to Florence."   

Rep. Brian Aldridge (R-Tupelo): Don't blame me, judge, I just wrote the checks

Rep. Brian Aldridge (R-Tupelo)

You may recall a couple of stories about Rep. Brian Aldridge's legal troubles back in late August.  If not, you should take a second and read about them here and here.  In short, Aldridge is being accused by his aunt of stealing half a million dollars from her by funneling it through "Touched By an Angel Ministries."  Aldridge's parents are also defendants in a chancery court lawsuit the aunt has filed to get an accounting of what happened to the money.  Shortly after that news broke, Secretary of State Delbert Hosemann (R) ordered Rep. Aldridge to get in compliance with reporting laws and to pay $21,424.19 in back taxes to the IRS.

Anyway, earlier this month, the courtroom drama continued, and we got a new defense out of Rep. Aldridge. Here's an excerpt from Patsy Brumfield's story on it that sums it up:

Chancellor Michael Malski, who asked his own questions during the hearing, seemed mystified that Brian Aldridge was the charity's chief executive officer for 15 years and never knew anything about its finances controlled by his father.

"What you're telling the court is that you would rather look the other way as CEO of a corporation rather than buck your father?" Malski said during Brian Aldridge's testimony.

"I don't know if I'd say, look the other way," the state legislator said. "All I can say ... I just didn't put my focus there, I put my energy elsewhere, which was those camps."

Now, how was the money spent?  Well, according to the article, on things like clothes, a cruise, a timeshare, and a trip to Hawaii.

If that's not the definition of fiscal conservatism, I'm not sure what is.  And with his lengthy track record in the House (he came in with Philip Gunn in 2004), this man deserves to be in leadership.

This is a story that's likely to be with us for quite some time.

It goes from bad to worse for Rep. Brian Aldridge (R-Tupelo)

Last week, I posted a piece on Rep. Brian Aldridge's legal battles concerning money he allegedly received from his elderly aunt. In short, she was accusing Rep. Aldridge (R-Tupelo) and his parents of bilking her out of half a million dollars through donations to "Touched by an Angel Ministries," which is currently run by Rep. Aldridge.

Well, it turns out the IRS and the Secretary of State are on Rep. Aldridge about it as well. In fact, Secretary of State Hosemann's office recently ordered Rep. Aldridge to get it together.

Patsy Brumfield has an article in the Daily Journal that covers it all, but the highlights of the Secretary of State's order are:

• $21,424.19 in back taxes are owed to the IRS
• Over $14,000 in bank overdraft fees have been incurred
• Touched by an Angel Ministries allegedly provided false information submitted in registration forms
• Touched by an Angel Ministries allegedly failed to maintain proper records
• Touched by an Angel Ministries allegedly failed to use contributions in accordance with state law

The whole article is worth a good read. One does have to wonder what will come of all of this. These are very serious accusations against Aldridge by the IRS and Secretary of State Hosemann.