JACKSON, Miss. — State Auditor Shad White announced that special agents from his office arrested Luther Russell, the former director of public works for Laurel, Mississippi, after alleging Russell used city-owned heavy equipment on his personal property and ordered employees to disable a GPS tracking device on a city vehicle.
“Thank you to the agents in my office who did the hard work in uncovering this scheme,” said State Auditor Shad White. “We will continue to work closely with prosecutors to get record results for taxpayers.”
According to the auditor’s office, Russell instructed employees to load a City of Laurel track hoe onto a lowboy trailer and transport it to his property, where the equipment was allegedly used for personal work. The office says the heavy equipment damaged the road outside Russell’s house. After county officials instructed him to repair the roadway, Russell allegedly ordered employees to disable the vehicle’s GPS to conceal its movement.
Russell faces up to $8,000 in fines and 30 years in prison, the auditor’s office said. All persons arrested by the Mississippi Office of the State Auditor are presumed innocent until proven guilty in court. Suspected fraud can be reported to the auditor’s office via the red button on its website or by calling 1-800-321-1275 during business hours. This is a developing story and will be updated as more details emerge.
