Gibson County Sheriff Paul Thomas was scheduled to appear in Gibson County Circuit Court on Tuesday morning, but the hearing was rescheduled to an undetermined date.
Thomas faces 18 counts of official misconduct in Gibson County for his role in profiting from inmate labor, which he pled not guilty to at his last court date on July 10. He’s facing additional charges in Davidson County, where he’s scheduled to appear in court on Nov. 13, on four counts of theft, computer crimes, and forgery.
At the July 10 hearing, Judge Mark Ward noted that the next hearing, originally scheduled for Oct. 22, would determine future scheduling dates, including one for trial.
Out of Shelby County, Ward was appointed by the Supreme Court of Tennessee to preside over Thomas’s case, eliminating a potential conflict of interest with Gibson County Circuit Court Judge Clayburn Peeples.
Similarly, on Oct. 3, 2022 the office of District Attorney Frederick Agee, 28th Judicial District, voluntarily recused himself from the case per conflict of interest in his jurisdiction over Crockett, Gibson, and Haywood counties.
Court documents indicate that District Attorney Stacey Edmonson of the 21st Judicial District out of Williamson County was assigned as the pro tempore prosecutor over Thomas’s case on May 6, 2024. She replaces the former appointee to the case, District Attorney Kim Helper, 21st Judicial District, following her unexpected passing in March 2023.
More: What to know about Gibson County Sheriff: Allegations profiting from inmate labor
More: Gibson Co. Sheriff indicted on 18 counts of misconduct, inmate labor for personal gain
More: Gibson Co. Sheriff pleads not guilty to all 18 counts of profiting from inmate labor
Indictment
Thomas was indicted on May 6, though it remained sealed until May 22 for the following charges in Gibson County:
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Counts 1-6 are class E felonies and detail that Thomas allegedly used the labor or employment of six different inmates for his gain and benefit, profiting either directly or indirectly.
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Counts 7-12 name the six inmates and the use of their labor to benefit Alliance Staffing Group in Milan, a hiring program catered to incarcerated individuals established by Thomas and others.
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Counts 13-18 list that the same six inmates under the care of Thomas were improperly guarded to prevent escape.
In Davidson County, his charges are one count of theft of property over $60,000, two counts of computer crimes over $60,000, and one count of forgery over $60,000.
The Gibson County offense timeline ranges from May 1, 2022 through October 31, 2022. During this period, Thomas won his third re-election for sheriff in August 2022.
On June 12, the Division of Investigations for the Tennessee Comptroller of the Treasury released a 15-page report outlining Thomas’s malfeasance based on records dating from July 1, 2019 through October 31, 2022.
The investigation revealed five key findings, the first being that Thomas improperly directed inmate wage fees and deductions totaling $1,417,204 to directly profit the Alliance Group.
Involvement in multiple inmate transitional ventures
The Alliance Group is a three-fold company started by Thomas and other local businessmen to provide housing, staffing, and transportation to inmates of the Gibson County Jail as an intermediate employment and rehabilitative entity that prepares inmates for societal reentry.
Alliance Housing, Alliance Staffing, and Alliance Transportation were all subjects of the comptroller’s investigation.
The report details that Thomas improperly obtained $507,273 in inmate board bill funds, provided through the Tennessee Department of Corrections, and transferred them to the Orchard House in Milan, the transitional home under the umbrella of Alliance Housing.
Thomas directly and improperly benefitted, profited and gained $181,644 from inmate labor, according to the investigation. Alliance Staffing managed a full-service staffing team whose revenue was made through markups from employee wages. The investigation revealed that, after wage deductions, several inmates collected a net pay of zero dollars.
From May 2020 to October 2022, Thomas obtained $507,273 from a room and board subsidy provided to the county through a Tennessee Department of Corrections reimbursement. The subsidy stems from inmates, referred to as the “backup population,” who are housed in local facilities due to overcrowding in state prisons.
The state reimbursement from 74 inmates was transferred to the Orchard House.
He also improperly directed $488,637 to an Alliance Housing savings account and transferred $100,000 to Alliance Staffing.
Finally, the report found that Thomas operated an unauthorized work release program for at least eight months and awarded sentence credits, instead of wages, for inmate labor used to construct the Orchard House.
Thomas currently remains in his role as the Gibson County Sheriff.
Sarah Best is a reporter for The Jackson Sun. To support local journalism, subscribe to the Daily Briefing here.
This article originally appeared on Jackson Sun: Gibson Co. Sheriff court date rescheduled, Williamson Co. DA appointed
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