LAFOLLETTE, TN. (WLAF) – Another LaFollette City official has been arrested.

Yesterday’s arrest was Mike Stanfield, a three term mayor, who is running unopposed for this fourth term.

Stanfield’s arrest came after the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation presented its case to a Campbell County Grand Jury on Wednesday (Mike Stanfield True Bill 202009031422 (1)).  When the grand jury returned its findings, Stanfield was indicted on seven counts of official misconduct, one count of retaliation for reporting to the comptroller and one count of misrepresenting information to a state auditor.

His alleged misdeeds date back to 2015, according to the indictment.  Stanfield is accused of using his elected office for personal benefit, coercing city employees to lie, operating outside his authorized powers and retaliating against employees for reporting his crimes.

Stanfield, who is known for proclaiming his love for the city he was elected to serve, is accused of using city property for personal purposes and having a city employee perform work that benefited Stanfield, the indictment said.  Along with this, the mayor is further accused of directing a city employee to provide false statements to auditors.

These allegations coupled with breaking the city charter were named in the indictment.

The conflict between Stanfield, council members and city administrator Jimmy Jeffries is a well-documented issue.  It is now part of Stanfield’s alleged crimes. The indictment specifically names Stanfield bypassing Jeffries and giving orders to Jeffries’ subordinates.  By doing that, Stanfield committed a crime in that he violated the city charter that he swore to uphold.

After his arrest, Stanfield was released from the Campbell County Jail on a $2,500 bond.

Stanfield is just one of a long list of LaFollette City officials arrested while in office.

During his time as mayor, three council members have been arrested.

Ann Thompson, a current council member, is charged with 34 counts of wiretapping and electronic surveillance along with two counts of official misconduct.  She stands accused of placing a tape recorder under a conference table in the city council chambers. The recorder captured approximately 34 conversations from Jan. 29, 2019 until Feb. 12, 2019 before working its way loose and falling to the ground during a community prayer meeting.  She is waiting for her case to be disposed of by the courts.

In 2018, Joe Bolinger, another council member and vice mayor at the time, was busted in a sting for the misuse of food stamps.  He was alleged to have been buying soft drinks for pennies on the dollar from people who had purchased the drinks with food stamps.  While Bolinger initially faced multiple charges, in the end he pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit food stamp fraud and fraudulent receipt of food stamp assistance.  His sentence was judicial diversion, unsupervised probation of one year and a $500 fine.  Bolinger remained on the council until the next election when voters ousted him.

In 2016, Councilmember Hansford Hatmaker was arrested in a countywide narcotics round up.  He was charged with selling narcotics, but later pleaded guilty to the reduced charge of casual exchange of a controlled substance.  He was placed on 11 months, 29 days probation and ordered to pay court costs.  He retained his seat until the next election when voters replaced him.  Throughout his proceedings Hatmaker, who had served as vice-mayor, insisted he had been set up.

In 2006, then mayor Cliff Jennings was caught in a countywide gambling round up.  In the end, he pleaded no contest to a misdemeanor charge and was given probation.  While he kept his seat, Jennings insisted he had been set up.

Stanfield has always been available to comment when other officials have been arrested.

At the time of Thompson’s arrest, he told WLAF “This could end her (Thompson) political career.  People don’t forget.”

Under the LaFollette City Charter, an elected official must vacate their seat if convicted of a felony.

Each time a LaFollette City official was facing felony charges they saw a reduction in charges that resulted in misdemeanor outcomes enabling them to retain their seats. Thompson and Stanfield also face felonies but their cases have not been resolved. (WLAF NEWS PUBLISHED -09/04/2020- 6AM)

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