Skip to main content
Press Release

Former Monroe Public Works Director Sentenced To 31 Months For Bribery

For Immediate Release
U.S. Attorney's Office, Middle District of Georgia

Acting United States Attorney for the Middle District of Georgia, G. F. “Pete” Peterman, III, announced today that Hugh Stephen Worley, age 54, of Bethlehem, Georgia was sentenced to 31 months in federal prison on May 24, 2016, for one count of bribery by the Honorable C. Ashley Royal, U.S. District Court Judge, in Macon, Georgia. Mr. Worley is also ordered to pay $18,000 in restitution to the City of Monroe and forfeit an additional $18,000. He entered a plea of guilty to this charge on August 28, 2015 in Athens, Georgia.

Mr. Worley served as Director of Public Works for the City of Monroe in Walton County, Georgia for approximately seventeen years. He was terminated in January of 2013 for “violations of personnel policies and procedures.” One such violation involved the rental of an Asphalt Paver from a local company.

In 2008 or 2009, Sims Paving, Inc., a Monroe business, acquired an Asphalt Paver that could be used for small patching and paving jobs. Mr. Worley went to see the owner, Mr. Sims, about a paver that could be used for smaller jobs, such as paving the driveways in the City of Monroe Cemetery. In 2012, Mr. Sims and Mr. Worley came to a verbal agreement that the City would rent the paver for a total of $20,000 over four months. After the agreement, Mr. Worley told Mr. Sims on four separate occasions that he could use $1,000. He did not tell Mr. Sims about his need for the cash until after the agreement for the Paver rental. Fearful that Mr. Worley would renege on the rental deal, Mr. Sims gathered $1,000 together on the four separate occasions. The Paver was never used to pave the cemetery driveways or for any other municipal purpose. It sat idle at a cost of $20,000 to the City of Monroe. Mr. Worley admitted that he engaged in an illegal course of conduct regarding the rental agreement.     

 “Mr. Worley abused the trust placed in him by the people of the City of Monroe,” said Acting United States Attorney Peterman. “Now, as a direct result, he will face the consequences of violating public corruption laws by serving time.”

The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Athens division. Assistant United States Attorney Danial Bennett prosecuted the case for the Government.

Questions concerning this case should be directed to Pamela Lightsey, Public Information Officer, United States Attorney’s Office, at (478) 621-2603.

Updated May 25, 2016

Topic
Public Corruption