JACKSON — A federal grand jury has charged a south Mississippi businessman with giving a county official paper bags filled with cash in exchange for debris removal contracts funded by hurricane relief dollars.
Thomas Allen Landon, president and owner of Mid South Pipe Inc., could face up to 40 years in prison if convicted of bribing Greene County supervisor Earnest Holder, U.S. Attorney Dunn Lampton said Wednesday in a news release.
The six-count indictment against Landon does not estimate the value of the emergency contracts his company received, though it does say the government is seeking to recover at least $159,000 from him.
A separate indictment against Holder claims the supervisor solicited and accepted bribes from September 2005, immediately after Hurricane Katrina struck the Gulf Coast, to May 2007. It alleges he awarded contracts to Landon that were paid with federal disaster assistance funds.
In return, the grand jury alleged, Landon left at least two paper bags filled with cash in Holder’s truck on more than one occasion, for a total of $17,500.
Holder is accused of providing false testimony to a federal grand jury.
“I have never took no money from no contractor, no. No sir,” Holder said in response to a questions before the grand jury. He claimed to not know how the bags of cash got into his vehicle, according to the indictment.
“I felt like it might’ve could’ve been the FBI or somebody put that money in there because my truck stays unlocked all the time. It couldn’t have been just Landon. It could’ve been anybody. I didn’t know whose money it was,” Holder told the grand jury, according to the indictment.
The indictment against Landon also accuses him of falsifying paperwork to cover up the deal.
Landon appeared Wednesday before U.S. Magistrate Robert H. Walker in Gulfport and was released on $25,000 bond. He also faces a maximum fine of $1.75 million.
Holder is charged with bribery and perjury and could face up to 15 years. He has been released from jail on a $20,000 bond.
Both indictments were made public Wednesday. Calls late Wednesday and early Thursday to Landon’s office in Lucedale and Holder’s home by The Associated Press were not returned.
Local News
Miss. contractor, official charged with bribery
- Local News
-
-
PAINTING HYDRANTS
Firefighters with Picayune Fire Department conduct regular maintenance on the city’s many fire hydrants, such as giving them a fresh coat of paint.
-
Two charged with making meth around kids
Two parents were arrested for allegedly making and possessing methamphetamine, while their children were in the home.
-
Unemployment rate down slightly
Pearl River County’s unemployment rate dropped slightly between March and April of this year.
-
PMHS GRADUATION
Picayune Memorial High School held its graduation ceremony Thursday night where the school’s valedictorian Jared Christopher Bates, left, and salutatorian Bryce Austin Warden gave their speeches.
-
POPLARVILLE GRADUATION
Poplarville High School held its graduation ceremony Thursday night where the school’s valedictorian Rebecca Starke, left, and salutatorian Meagan Whitworth gave their speeches to the graduating class, parents and friends.
-
Local man paralyzed by juvenile shooting
Medical personnel were teaching a local man how to swallow again on Saturday after his spinal cord was severed by a .22 caliber bullet, fired by one of three juveniles, on Thursday.
-
Potential bridge replacement fund shortage draws discussion
Despite a lengthy agenda for Pearl River County supervisors Wednesday the board handled many of the items with a straight up and down 5-0 vote.
-
Glade Woods dies
Funeral services for Earl Glade Woods , 75 of Picayune, are Monday at 11 a.m. at First Baptist Church of Picayune. Woods passed away on Friday.
-
MHP on patrol for holiday
Even though there has been a remarkable reduction in the number of fatalities in Mississippi over the past seven years, last year’s Memorial Day Weekend was particularly deadly.
-
POLICE MEMORIAL
City employees were out at the Picayune Police Department memorial Thursday morning doing some upgrades to it.
- More Local News Headlines
-
Air Canada Plane Makes Emergency Landing
Raw Video: 19 Dead in Qatar Shopping Mall Fire
Beryl Makes Landfall on Florida Coast
Service Dogs Help Wash. Soldiers Battling PTSD
Raw Video: Heckler Bursts in on Blair Testimony
Japan Farmers Plant, Seek Radiation-free Rice
UN Blames Syrian Forces for Shelling Houla
Raw Video: Gay Protest Blocked in Moscow
Vatican in Chaos After Butler Arrested for Leaks
Jimmy Carter Endorses Egypt's Election Results
Biden Addresses West Point Graduating Class
Dozens of Children Killed in New Syria Attack
Raw Video: Activists Allege Massacre in Syria
NJ Man Charged With Murder in Death of Patz
Support, Fun for Kids of Fallen Soldiers at Camp
Fugitive Penguin Caught, Returned to Aquarium
50 Years Later, Underground Fire Still Burning
Light Show Transforms Sydney Opera House
Raw Video: Unruly Passenger Restrained in Miami
Raw Video: Robber Uses Drive-thru Window
