ATLANTA (AP) — A former top official during Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed’s administration was sentenced Tuesday to three years in prison under a federal corruption probe that ensnared nearly a dozen people on bribery or other related charges. U.S.
District Judge Steve C. Jones also ordered Jimmie “Jim” A. Beard, 60, of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, to serve three years of supervised release following his prison term and pay restitution of $177,197 plus a $10,000 fine.
Prosecutors said Beard charged luxury trips to a city credit card, double-dipped on travel reimbursements, cheated on his taxes and used the auspices of the city police department to buy a pair of custom-built machine guns otherwise unavailable to civilians. Jones said the city had entrusted Beard, who was Atlanta’s chief financial officer from 2011 to 2018, to safeguard its funds and ensure that taxpayer money benefitted taxpayers, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported . By treating himself instead, the judge said, he’d sowed distrust in government.
“You were a steward,” Jones told Beard before adding: “There’s a trust factor that goes with holding these jobs.” RELATED COVERAGE 2 workers killed and 1 injured in tire explosion at a Delta Air Lines facility in Atlanta Special counsel urges appeals court to reinstate classified documents case against Trump Georgia lawmakers say the top solution to jail problems is for officials to work together Beard pleaded guilty in April to diverting governmen.