From the editorial "Make small Glades town finally work for residents:"
For more than a year, South Bay City Manager Corey Alston tried to rip off the rural town he supposedly serves, pushing a plan that would force residents to overpay for water while he advanced his mysterious agenda. So maybe it’s not surprising that he’s been charged with trying to rip off South Bay again – this time, prosecutors say, to line his own pockets directly.
On Friday, prosecutors charged Mr. Alston with grand theft, saying he made off with $25,000 in city money after convincing three city commissioners that he was entitled to it. (He wasn’t.) Authorities also charged the three commissioners, who admitted to supporting his money grab, with violating Florida’s too-often-neglected government open-meetings law.
The South Bay shakeup ought to make the Glades town of 5,000 pay closer attention to what happens at city hall. Not only did the investigation by the Palm Beach County State Attorney’s Office reveal evidence of grand theft by Mr. Alston, it suggested that he spends a large chunk of his time on the clock working from Broward County, where he lives and has founded a private school. Since Mr. Alston makes $105,000 a year in South Bay, you’d think he would show up for his day job most of the time.
Mr. Alston allegedly raided the city under the pretense of cashing out his unused vacation time. But he “cashed out” more than double the amount he had accrued. And it turned out he wasn’t supposed to cash out any of it. Under city rules and the provisions of his contract, that’s only allowed if he resigns.
Read the full editorial here.