Jury finds Louisiana parish’s clerk of court guilty

NEW IBERIA, La. (AP) — A jury has found the clerk of court for a Louisiana parish guilty of 14 corruption-related charges.

The Advocate reports Iberia Parish Clerk of Court Michael Thibodeaux was convicted Tuesday of charges stemming from allegations he stole advance deposit funds, gave false testimony and filed or maintained false public records related to his elected position.

A grand jury indicted the 63-year-old last year based on findings from a 2016 Legislative Auditor's investigation. That probe accused him of improperly transferring fees to his office's salary fund or retaining deposits that should have been repaid to litigants. He was accused of hiding the transfers by creating false entries in his accounting system.

Thibodeaux faces up to 20 years in prison. State District Judge Lewis Pitman set sentencing for June 21.

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Information from: The Advocate, http://theadvocate.com