A Georgia mayor indicted for allegedly trying to give inmates alcohol has been suspended

THOMSON, Ga. (AP) — The mayor of a small Georgia town has been suspended after he was indicted over allegations that he illegally left a bottle of gin in a ditch for a state prison work crew.

Thomson Mayor Benjamin “Benji” Cary Cranford, 52, was suspended Friday by Gov. Brian Kemp after a review panel concluded that the charges hurt his ability to perform his job.

The August indictment in McDuffie County Superior Court says Cranford drove to a store June 3, bought a bottle of Seagram’s Extra Dry Gin and left it in a ditch along Georgia 150 in Thomson in the path of a work crew from the Jefferson County Correctional Institution. He is charged with two felonies — furnishing prohibited items to inmates and attempting to commit a felony.

Three days later Thomson police asked the Georgia Bureau of Investigation to investigate the claim that Cranford gave alcohol to inmates, the GBI has said.

Agents arrested the mayor at Thomson City Hall after a council meeting and led him away in handcuffs. He is free on $5,000 bail.

Cranford has told WRDW-TV that he doesn’t remember what he did June 3 and doesn’t know any prisoners in the Jefferson County facility.

Cranford will remain suspended without pay until the charges are resolved or his term of office ends.

Cranford won election last year, beating 12-year-incumbent Kenneth Usry. A paving contractor before he was elected, Cranford later settled a lawsuit alleging he tried to hide assets from a bonding company that was on the hook to pay some of his company’s debts.