Aberdeen Mayor Pleads Guilty To Embezzlement; Must Step Down

ABERDEEN, MISS. (WCBI) – After months of denying it, today former Aberdeen mayor Maurice Howard admits to taking money from the city.

Howard was indicted on 5 separate embezzlement charges in October of 2019.

Back then, he told WCBI News that “the mayor has not, nor have I ever been a thief,” calling the charges false, “an embezzle-lie.”

But a plea deal this morning in Monroe County Circuit Court says otherwise.

Maurice Howard is no longer mayor of Aberdeen. During a brief hearing, Howard pleads guilty to embezzling thousands of dollars from the city.

Flanked by his attorney, Maurice Howard was asked a series of questions by Circuit Court Judge John White. After assuring Judge White that he understood the proceedings, Howard entered a guilty plea to the charges of embezzlement, giving up his right to a jury trial.

Howard was arrested in 2019 after the state auditor’s office accused the mayor of receiving about $3,500 in taxpayer-funded reimbursements for city-related trips. The state auditor’s office, and the District Attorney’s office, accused Howard of not going on the trips and pocketing the money.

“We think the mayor, former mayor, plead guilty, because of the evidence the state had, and I think we would have shown, in the trial, he has admitted under oath, he is guilty of this crime,” said Assistant District Attorney Paul Gault.

Under a plea deal, Howard was sentenced to a 10 year, suspended jail term, he will have to pay more than $8,000 in restitution, including investigative charges and by Mississippi law,  must leave office.

After the hearing, Howard and his attorney said the plea deal was taken to avoid jail time and also to allow the pastor and former mayor opportunities to stay involved in the community.

“My client admitted he made a few mistakes, but I don’t think an error in judgment identifies or classifies somebody’s character, I know Maurice to be a good man,” said Michael Sterling, Howard’s attorney.

“To be honest, I think me being removed from that seat, or stepping down from that seat, gives me a little more leverage to do a lot more in my community, because I had so many responsibilities as mayor, day to day operations wouldn’t allow me to do those things,” Howard said.

The assistant District Attorney says he is hopeful the city can concentrate on the future.

“We certainly hope this allows the city of Aberdeen to move forward and continue to improve the city and all its departments,” Gault said.

With Howard out of office, Alderwoman Lady B Garth will serve as mayor until a special election is called.

State law says the board of aldermen will set a date for a special election at their next regular meeting. Once that date is set, the election will be held within 30 to 45 days.