Council chief's spending spree lock-down
A former council CEO has been jailed after his free-wheeling use of the shire’s credit card.
A Corruption and Crime Commission investigation has wrapped up this week after poring over the activities of former Murchison Shire CEO Ron Adams. Charges were laid after Mr Adams was found to have used the council credit card to buy airfares and clothing as well as paying vet bills and traffic fines.
The 42-year-old ex-councillor also used ratepayers’ money to make payments to members of his family.
All up, Mr Adam pleaded guilty to 139 charges of corruption and theft. He has been ordered to repay $40,000 to the Murchison Shire and has 16 months behind bars to reflect on his flagrantly poor choices.
Locals will be thrilled to have excised the corrupt councillor. Murchison Shire president Simon Broad said there is an excellent batch of councillors and council-workers running the Shire these days, and the community could now move on.
“It's a great relief I guess because it's put an end to a pretty dark period in our past, so now we can look forward to the future and we've got a really good group together at the admin level so we're really excited about the future rather than dwelling on the past,” Mr Broad says.