DA theft case hearings set for Tuesday
Hearings will be held Tuesday in Banks County Superior Court on charges filed against former Piedmont Judicial Circuit Assistant District Attorney Brett Williams and former DA employee Linn Jones. The hearings are set for 10 a.m. Tuesday in Banks County Superior Court.
Jones is the wife of former DA Tim Madison, who pled guilty to theft charges and was sentenced two weeks ago to six years in prison and to pay restitution of $40,000.
Williams is charged with theft by taking, theft by receiving and violation of oath of office for having allegedly received a double salary, one from the state and one from Banks County, then kicking part of the Banks County salary back to Madison.
Jones is charged with four counts of false statements and one count of conspiracy to defraud the state for having allegedly received pay for hours she didn’t actually work. Madison had put his wife on the payroll in both Jackson and Banks Counties in 2005 and 2006.
All three were indicted last August and entered not guilty pleas in December. Two weeks ago, Madison changed his plea to guilty and received his sentence.
The cases began in March 2007 after a series of investigative newspaper articles in The Jackson Herald outlined financial abuse in the DA’s office. Georgia Attorney General Thurbert Baker subsequently asked the GBI to formally investigate the matter.
Madison and Jones both resigned their positions in May. Williams had already left the DA’s office and was working for the U.S. Justice Department in Atlanta. He subsequently resigned from that position.
