Former Martin mayor, city employees plead ‘not guilty’ in court
MARTIN, Tenn. — The three City of Martin employees who were recently arrested appeared in court Monday morning.
Former Mayor Randy Brundige, his daughter Natalie, and the Director of Economic and Community Development, Brad Thompson, were all arrested and booked into the Weakley County jail last week. Monday morning, they all three appeared in court and pled not guilty.
All three are facing charges of theft of property and official misconduct.
Brundige was in his 6th term as Martin’s Mayor, serving for 23 years.
According to the Tennessee Comptroller Report, the investigation began after their office received allegations regarding suspected illegal behavior.
Mayor Brundige was also accused of misappropriating funds from the city totaling almost $$11,000. That investigation says that Mayor Brundige and Thompson ordered fine dining entrées and several drinks at restaurants using the City-issued credit card. Bills from these restaurants would range multiple hundreds of dollars.
Natalie Brudinge, the mayor’s daughter, is accused of receiving roughly $174,000 in wages and employer paid benefits over six years. She was employed as a full-time custodian for the Martin Police Department. Investigators say that she was only on site for two hours a day, yet was paid for a full eight hours a day.
Finally, Brad Thompson is accused of misappropriating funds from the city totaling $274,000. In addition, he is accused of misappropriating roughly $33,000 on the city credit card for travel.
Mayor Brundige sent in his resignation late last week to some of the alderman in the City of Martin.
Their next court appearance is set for February 9.
SEE ALSO:
- Investigation finds mayor, his daughter, and 3rd city employee misused thousands
- Martin Mayor resigns following criminal investigation, reports confirm
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