Former Columbus CFO sentenced to 20 years in prison for embezzlement
Former chief financial officer for the city of Columbus Milton Rawle will spend up to 20 years in the Mississippi Department of Corrections after pleading guilty Monday to embezzling nearly $290,000 in city funds.
Rawle, 49, was indicted for embezzlement last year after investigators found he moved $288,893.03 from city accounts to his own personal accounts between December 2016 and December 2018, investigators said.
Though Rawle's attorney, Daniel Waide of Hattiesburg, pointed out that Rawle took responsibility by entering the open plea and would work to pay off what he owed the city, prosecutors couched the crime as a betrayal of the city, its employees and its taxpayers.
"I know the court is well aware of the public interest in this case (and) the negative impact this has on the city's reputation," said District Attorney Scott Colom, who prosecuted the case along with Assistant District Attorney Collen Hudson.
Read more: https://www.cdispatch.com/news/article.asp?aid=86503
(Columbus Dispatch)