Ethics panel fines former Wayne County assessor who admitted embezzlement
A former Wayne County assessor who admitted embezzling about $50,000 last year was fined $10,000 Thursday by the state Ethics Commission for violations of the Ethics Act.
After deliberating for only about five minutes, commissioners approved the order against Eric Hodges for using his public office for private gain by running up more than $50,000 of purchases of goods and services for his personal use on two county-issued credit cards during the summer of 2015.
According to testimony at a March 21 Ethics Commission hearing, the illegal purchases — which first came to light when the state auditor’s office notified Wayne County officials of unusual transactions on Hodges’ local government purchasing card — included purchases at Classic Liquors, Down Home Grill, Elk Springs Resort, Mid-State Marina, Bergoo Bait and Tackle, Charlie’s Harley Davidson, Corner Liquor and Wine, Smoke Time Sams and Living Art Studios.
Hodges resigned as assessor on Oct. 9, 2015. On Jan. 21, 2016, he pleaded guilty to two counts of embezzlement in Wayne Circuit Court. He was sentenced in March 2016 to five years’ probation and was ordered to pay restitution and forfeit items purchased with county funds, including an all-terrain vehicle.
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