A. A. Chandler v. State

McMILLAN, JUDGE The appellant was indicted and charged with two counts of theft by deception, and six counts of violations
of the State Ethics Law, specifically that he used his official position to obtain for himself direct personal financial gain,
in violation of § 36-25-5, Code of Alabama 1975. A mistrial was initially declared by the trial court on the grounds
that the appellant had tampered with the jury panel, and the appellant was cited with contempt. Thereafter, following another
trial, the jury found the appellant guilty on all counts. The appellant was sentenced to 10 years' imprisonment and was ordered
to pay $50,000 restitution. Because the issue of the sufficiency of the evidence to support the appellant's convictions of theft by deception and the
violation of the State Ethics Law is raised by the appellant, a brief rendition of the facts must be recounted. The appellant
took office as the mayor of the City of Vernon, Alabama, in October 1988, and continued in that office in 1989 and 1990. During
that period, agents with the Northwest Alabama Mental Health Center, Inc. (hereinafter the "Mental Health Center"), approached
Banks Butler, a member of the Vernon Industrial Development Board and the owner of a retail business located on property adjacent
to the Mental Health Center's office in Vernon, about the purchase of some property. The Mental Health Center is a public
corporation that operates mental health facilities and provides mental health services in an area including Lamar County.
The Mental Health Center was seeking property on which to construct certain residential facilities. Butler told one of the
agents of the Mental Health Center about a vacant lot that he owned, and the agent looked at the property, indicating that
it appeared suitable for the Mental Health Center's purposes. The agent told Butler that the project would be paid for with
federal funds, and Butler told him that the property was available for $6,000. Some adjacent property, known as the Livingston
estate, was discussed, and Butler informed the agent that this property had previously been offered for $32,000. The men discussed
some work that would have to be done on the Livingston estate, in order to make it suitable, and the agent expressed some
interest in purchasing that property. Thereafter, Butler spoke with the appellant concerning the work that needed to be done
on the Livingston estate, and the appellant stated that the city would cooperate in any way that it could. When he heard nothing
else about the purchase of the property, Butler called the agent, who informed him that the matter had been postponed, because
the money for it had not been approved.