Mayor Jake Windham told WLBT our investigation ‘insinuated misconduct’ by Chief Dean Scott
By C.J. LeMaster
Published: Jan. 5, 2024 at 10:34 PM CST
RANKIN COUNTY, Miss. (WLBT) - Two weeks after our 3 On Your Side investigation revealed timesheet discrepancies for two Rankin County employees -- one of whom is also Pearl’s police chief -- that city’s mayor is responding to what we found.
“There has been another news article insinuating misconduct by the City’s Police Chief due to him resigning due to a change in the tax assessor,” Pearl Mayor Jake Windham said in a text message statement sent to one of my WLBT associates.
Windham said he was unaware of what was being alleged when we first reached out to his spokesperson nearly two months ago about these issues concerning Police Chief Dean Scott.
Windham said he asked for WLBT’s findings so the city could investigate it before being interviewed, and that’s true.
Our December 21 report reflected the mayor’s response and our reply, that we would share what we learned with him during a sit-down interview, a sticking point to which he has yet to agree.
“Let it be clear there is no allegation of wrongdoing on behalf of the City and Mr. LeMaster has publicly stated that no wrongdoing has been found nor alleged against the City,” Windham wrote in the text message.
That’s true, too. The year-long investigation never found evidence that Pearl officials played a role in any of this.
Windham also defended Scott’s job with the county.
“There is no prohibition for the city’s police chief to have an additional part-time job.”
He cited this AG opinion that allows chiefs to have part-time jobs as long as they’re not on duty when they work them.
Our December investigation never criticized the fact that Scott had a part-time job with the county, but it’s unclear whether it was truly part-time.
County minutes approved the position as such in 2014, but for years, timesheets prove Scott worked more than 30 hours a week for the Rankin County Tax Assessor’s office.
Minutes from board meetings confirm he also had insurance coverage from the county, typically awarded to employees who are employed full-time.
Our year-long investigation laid out a case of serious discrepancies concerning Scott and former Richland mayor Pat Sullivan.
Records show Sullivan took so much leave time over five years, he ran out of what he had banked with the county but kept taking leave, eventually racking up more than 2300 hours extra, which equates to more than $85,000 of your tax dollars.
An analysis of travel records and timesheets showed Sullivan and Dean Scott claimed to work shifts for the county while at conferences on the Mississippi Gulf Coast - Scott claimed 22 hours of work during one week at the Golden Nugget in 2020.
The county said Scott had never accessed county systems or even had a county-issued computer.
All of this information was provided to you -- our viewers -- weeks ago.
Windham said that since WLBT had not provided our findings to him, he “independently contacted the State Auditor’s office to inquire into any investigation and was told there was no investigation into the City.”
That’s not exactly what the agency said when we asked about Windham’s claim.
“The Auditor’s Office cannot confirm nor deny any potential or ongoing investigations,” spokesperson Fletcher Freeman said. “That being said, the office is aware of allegations made against the aforementioned individuals highlighted by reporting from your news agency.”
This isn’t the first time Windham has claimed the auditor’s office wasn’t looking into the city.
On December 12, when he replied to our request for comment on these discrepancies, he said the auditor’s office “currently does not have an open case on Chief Dean Scott.”
Once the story aired, Windham only referenced that the state agency wasn’t looking into the city, not Scott specifically.
It’s not clear who Mayor Windham talked to at the auditor’s office.
What is clear is neither Scott nor Sullivan work for the county any longer.
They resigned amid our investigation into these timesheet discrepancies at the end of the year.
Here is the mayor’s full statement for transparency.
“There has been another news article insinuating misconduct by the City’s Police Chief due to him resigning due to a change in the tax assessor. However, let it be clear there is no allegation of wrongdoing on behalf of the City and Mr. Lemaster has publicly stated that no wrongdoing has been found nor alleged against the City. There is no prohibition for the City’s police chief to have an additional part-time job (see MS AG Opinion 1990 WL 547689).
As I’ve stated previously, I was contacted requesting an interview weeks ago but was unaware of whatever issue was being alleged. Therefore, I requested whatever information be provided so that we could independently investigate before being interviewed. That information was not provided and has still not been provided outside what has been reported.
Not having any information, after the interview request I independently contacted the State Auditor’s office to inquire into any investigation and was told there was no investigation into the City.
I do not believe the County is conducting any review and we will continue to look into what has been reported and act accordingly.”
Want more WLBT news in your inbox? Click here to subscribe to our newsletter.
See a spelling or grammar error in our story? Please click here to report it and include the headline of the story in your email.
Copyright 2024 WLBT. All rights reserved.
