Alabama mayor, 91, admits stealing $201K from town
Oct. 10, 2012 photo provided by Covington County (Ala.) Sheriff's Department shows Mary Ella Hixon / AP Photo/Covington County Sheriff's Department
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. A 91-year-old woman who pleaded guilty Thursday to stealing $201,000 from the south Alabama town where she was mayor for three decades paid hush money in a bid to keep her crimes secret, documents showed.
Prosecutors said River Falls Mayor Mary Ella Hixon pleaded guilty to theft and resigned. In exchange, authorities dropped another felony ethics charge.
Circuit Judge Ashley McKathan sentenced Hixon to 10 years in prison but suspended the term because of Hixon's advanced age. She must spend five years on probation.
Covington County District Attorney Walt Merrell said years of thefts left the city all but broke.
"Had it not been a 91-year-old woman, I would have stood on my head to make sure she went to prison," said Merrell.
McKathan ordered Hixon to repay the money, with her estate being held responsible if she dies before all the money is refunded.
The probe revealed Hixon had illegally transferred $201,610 in city money to others in the last three years, but the prosecutor said the thefts likely started long before.
An attorney representing Hixon, Mark Christensen, said "a lot of factors" led to Hixon's actions.
"I think, at least partially, she was being taken advantage of (by) some others she trusted and probably shouldn't have," he said.
Hixon, one of Alabama's longest-serving mayors, was re-elected in August, Christensen said.
Located near the Florida line, River Falls has about 510 residents. It's little more than a wide spot in the road for people driving to Panhandle beaches.
"To a casual passerby, it would be two gas stations and a bridge," Merrell said.
Authorities said police in nearby Opp began investigating after The Andalusia Star-News reported in August about the city selling property to a middle-aged man who was living with Hixon. Merrell said Hixon acted like a grandmother to the man's four children, the youngest of whom just entered college.
A sworn police statement said city money went to Hixon and her relatives, the man she lived with and his relatives, and co-workers at a development company where the mayor also worked.
The police statement showed the investigation grew to include a "concerned citizen" wearing a hidden recorder during a conversation in which Hixon admitted to illegal conduct, told the person what to say to police, and paid the man $525 to "keep him quiet."
Hixon turned herself in to authorities Wednesday in a negotiated surrender and was released on bond without having to spend the night in jail before her court appearance.
No one else has been charged, authorities said, but an investigation continues and Hixon agreed to cooperate. Christensen said she testified to a grand jury after pleading guilty.
Residents who long suspected wrongdoing in the town began talking to police after word of the investigation leaked earlier this year, said the district attorney. While Hixon was old, he said, she also was powerful.
"We had quite a few citizens come forward with information they had held on to for years," Merrell said. "They were reluctant to do so earlier for fear of being ostracized or because it was a proverbial "little old lady."'
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The Andalusia Star-News reported Friday that 47-year-old Richard Moss is charged with multiple counts of theft. He's the former administrator of the Coffee County Jail."
So when fellow citizens were afraid to speak out against her, was it this guy they were afraid of?
P.S. If you think and old small town Alabama mayor was anything but conservative, you don't know Alabama.
If you are interested in whether this woman is a Republican or Democrat, I'm guessing it is to just spread hate and meanness. We've had crooked politicians, including mayors, who are both Republican and Democrat.
That being said, odds are she is a Republican if you look at the make-up of the state of Alabama. From the fabulous source (that is being said with tongue-in-cheek) of wikipedia, Alabama "can accurately be described as one of the more staunchly Republican states in the nation." It then goes on to describe all the elections won by Republicans in Alabama in the last 30 years or so, and all the offices held currently by Republicans.
Miss Mary Ella wouldn't keep getting re-elected by being different from her neighbors but because she was representative of them.