NEWS

Former Sen. Robertson accused of embezzlement

Former State Senator Tommy Robertson has been indicted on five counts of embezzlement.

Jimmie E. Gates, and Geoff Pender
Tommy Robertson

Former powerful state Senator Tommy Robertson of Moss Point is accused of using his position as board attorney for Singing River Federal Credit Union to embezzle more than $484,000.

Robertson, 59, was indicted on five counts of embezzlement alleged to have occurred in April of 2013, according to an announcement Monday by State Auditor Stacey Pickering and Jackson County District Attorney Tony Lawrence. They say Robertson embezzled loan proceeds he held in trust.

Robertson surrendered himself to the Jackson County Sheriff's Office and was released on $50,000 bond.

Republican Robertson served in the state Senate from 1992 to 2008, including two terms as chairman of the powerful Finance Committee. He was one of former Lt. Gov. Amy Tuck's top lieutenants and a strong ally of former Republican Gov. Haley Barbour.

Robertson made news with DUI arrests in Biloxi in 1997, on the Ole Miss Campus in 2003 after a football game, and in Moss Point in 2008, after which he resigned from a governor's tax study commission and underwent alcohol treatment.

Robertson was also heavily criticized after he and two other lawmakers who are attorneys won a $1.2-million contract to administer Hurricane Katrina homeowner assistance grants.

Pickering said: "In joining the Jackson County Sheriff's office and the District Attorney's office in this investigation, we once again show the positive results of teamwork and cooperation on matters such as this. While these are unfortunate situations, we at the State Auditor's Office work tirelessly to ensure that individuals who break the law are held accountable."

Lawrence said, "The indictment is an allegation of criminal wrongdoing, but under our law, the Defendant is innocent until proven guilty at a trial of this cause. My office will continue to work with the State Auditor's Office and the Jackson County Sheriff's Department to prevent, investigate, and prosecute allegations involving a violation of the public trust."

Contact Jimmie E. Gates at jgates@jackson.gannett. com or (601) 961-7212. Follow @jgatesnews on Twitter.