The mayor of a tiny Georgia town could be headed to prison for leaving an open bottle of gin in a ditch for a state prison work crew.
52-year-old mayor, Benjamin “Benji” Cary Cranford was indicted Wednesday and later arrested by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation.
WRDW-TV reports that he is now charged with felony counts of furnishing prohibited items to inmates and conspiracy to commit a felony.
The indictment, which was filed in McDuffie County Superior Court states Cranford bought a bottle of Seagram’s Extra Dry Gin on June 3 and dumped it by the curb along Cobbham Road near Thomson.
The area was reportedly along the path of a work crew consisting of state prisoners from Jefferson County Correctional Institution.
The Thomson Police Department requested on June 6 that the GBI investigate these allegations, and Cranford was arrested.
The GBI arrested Cranford after a city council meeting at Thomson City Hall. He was taken to the McDuffie County Jail, and released on $5,000 bail Wednesday.
“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 suspended from his duties as mayor pending the outcome of charges. The charges would prevent Cranford from serving as mayor, if a panel of judges recommends that Georgia Republican Governor Brian Kemp fire them.
Earlier this year, other officials have been put on leave in comparable cases that were not linked directly to their official duties.
Cranford, who was sworn into office earlier this year after defeating incumbent Kenneth Usry in November’s election, has faced legal challenges before. He settled a lawsuit filed months before he ran for office earlier this month.
A lawsuit claimed he helped conceal assets from a bonding company that was coming in to cover some of the debts by his firm, which: had financial problems and led to significant projects for his business being finished.
