JACKSBORO — The mayor of LaFollette has been arrested following a joint investigation by the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation and the Tennessee Comptroller’s Office, and his indictment by a Campbell County grand jury.
According to the TBI, special agents joined investigators from the Comptroller’s Office to probe allegations of misconduct by LaFollette Mayor Michael Stanfield in June, upon request of District Attorney General Pro Tempore Nathan Nichols.
“During the course of the investigation, authorities determined that Stanfield used city employees and equipment to work on private property, some of which he owned,” the TBI said in a release on Thursday. “Further investigation revealed that Stanfield directed a city employee to make false statements to state auditors.”
The 69-year-old Stanfield was indicted by a Campbell County grand jury on Wednesday on seven counts of official misconduct, one count of retaliation for report to comptroller, and one count of misrepresenting information to state auditors.
Stanfield was arrested on Thursday. He was released a short time later after posting a $2,500 bond.
Last October, a LaFollette councilwoman, Vanessa Ann Thompson, was arrested following a misconduct investigation by the TBI at the request of District Attorney General Jared Effler. Thompson was indicted on 34 counts of wiretapping and electronic surveillance and two counts of official misconduct after allegedly placing a recording device in the LaFollette City Hall conference room.
