Nov 29, 2015 Solid Waste Board Asks DA To Seek Restitution from Ronnie Brady

The Hamblen County/Morristown Solid Waste Board was asleep at the wheel for the 3-plus years during which its Director Ronnie Brady stole nearly $225,000 from the Hamblen County/Morristown Solid Waste Authority.


Brady was indicted after a special investigative audit was completed by the State Comptroller's Office. Click here for a prior post with links to the State Investigative Audit. Tracing the money that Brady took back to its source, the money came out of the pockets of the taxpayers and residents of Morristown and of Hamblen County as the City and County paid monthly garbage disposal/tipping fees to the Solid Waste Authority and Brady, in turn, siphoned a lot of these taxpayer dollars/public funds for his own use.
 
Recently, the Board voted to ask DA Dan Armstrong to request that Brady make restitution to the Hamblen County/Morristown Solid Waste Authority for the insurance deductible and extra audit expenses that the Authority incurred when the theft was finally discovered. Here is the SWB on November 20, 2015, voting to seek restitution for extra audit services and the insurance "deductible." There are rumors afloat that this restitution is part of a plea deal that has been offered to Brady. It remains to be seen if DA Armstrong plans to let someone steal nearly $225,000 in public funds and only have to make restitution for an audit and an insurance "deductible."



The Board's former chairman Stancil Ford was an "in-law" of Brady up until Stancil's divorce years ago. Ford and the rest of the Board apparently had such great faith in Brady that they didn't bother to make sure that all payroll and other checks that Brady was writing on the City/County Solid Waste Board checkbook were legitimate.


For years, while the SWB did nothing, Brady helped himself to an extra $190,000+ in payroll checks AND paid some of his car repair and credit card expenses (including a trip to Disneyworld) with public funds. Brady apparently felt that his $80,000+ salary along with car allowance and insurance benefits was not "enough." The SWB's former auditor Craine-Thompson-Jones didn't catch the theft until after several years had passed and Brady had helped himself to nearly a quarter million dollars --or more-- of public money!