February 10, 2020 at 4:32 PM EST – Updated February 10 at 7:00 PM
BLADENBORO, N.C. (WECT) -A former Bladenboro town manager indicted for felony fraud has pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge in Bladen County Superior Court.
Delane Jackson was forced to resign in 2013 after questions were raised about what happened to hundreds of thousands of dollars the town spent when Jackson was in charge.
According to papers filed with the secretary of state, Jackson started a company called Cygnus Inc. in January 2005 while he was the town manager of Bladenboro. The same year, that company won a contract to provide wastewater treatment services for the town. Cygnus was paid $450,000 in the years that followed.
But in 2013, the same day a new mayor was sworn into office, Cygnus abruptly quit. The town was able to hire another company to provide wastewater treatment services at a fraction of the cost it had been paying Cygnus. The new mayor, Rufus Duckworth, raised concerns and questioned if the work the town paid Cygnus for was actually done. In 2014, The State Bureau of Investigation stepped in at the district attorney’s request, and found probable cause to arrest Jackson for fraud.
In 2017, town leaders told WECT they never saw a single employee doing any actual work for the company, or even a Cygnus work truck.
However, former Bladenboro Mayor Livingston Lewis, who served the town from 1998-2013, signed an affidavit presented in court that likely bolstered Jackson’s defense.
“As far as I know, Cygnus operated the system for many years….completed their contract on time, on budget and in conformance with the town’s contract,” Lewis said in the 2017 affidavit.
Despite some concerning evidence, the state did not feel it would be able to prove all charges beyond a reasonable doubt, and offered Jackson a plea deal.
On Monday, Jackson pleaded guilty to misdemeanor public employee benefiting from public contract. He was given a 45 day suspended sentence, and also ordered to pay back $14,970 in restitution to the Town of Bladenboro, according to assistant district attorney Quintin McGee.
Copyright 2020 WECT. All rights reserved.