Ivey cops to plea in embezzlement case

Local Republican stalwart and former state senate candidate Jim Ivey accepted a plea deal from Judge Lawton Stephens to avoid a much harsher sentence in a deal that had been in the works long before Thanksgiving. Ivey, who maintained his innocence, copped to the plea to hopefully avoid jail, although District Attorney Ken Mauldin will oppose the first offender status for the former financial officer for the Veterans Memorial who finally acknowledged his guilt to embezzling money from the charity. He claims it is in the best interest of his children. I still say he ought to be sentenced to chisel the unexpected bedrock under the Oconee County Complex where the Veterans Memorial is going to be across from Herman C. Michael Park in the Eastville community near Butler's Crossing.