FROM THE OFFICE OF ATTORNEY GENERAL STEVE MARSHALL
(MONTGOMERY)—Attorney General Steve Marshall announced the arrest* today of the Lanett Director of Planning and Development for an ethics violation and other related charges. Tony Chandler, 46, surrendered this morning at the Chambers County Jail and has been released on a bond of $12,500. He is charged with use of his official position for personal gain, third-degree theft of services, and making a false statement to an employee of the Ethics Commission.
The arrest was made pursuant to a warrant based on evidence from an investigation by Attorney General Marshall’s Special Prosecutions Division.
Specifically, the warrant charges that Chandler directed city employees, working on city time, to help him move personal property from one personal residence to another. The warrant charges that he then made a false statement about the incident to an employee of the Ethics Commission during the course of its investigation.
No further information about the investigation or about Chandler’s alleged crimes other than that stated in the warrant may be released at this time.
If convicted, Chandler faces a maximum penalty of two to 20 years of imprisonment and a fine of up to $30,000 for the ethics charge, which is a class B felony; one to five years and a fine of up to $7,500 for theft of services in the third degree, which is a class D felony; and up to one year imprisonment and a fine of up to $6,000 for making a false statement to an Ethics employee, a class A misdemeanor.
*A warrant is merely an accusation. Defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
