Federal jury convicts ex-McAlester city manager on five counts of embezzlement

Tuesday, March 21st 2006, 8:16 pm

By: News On 6

MUSKOGEE, Okla. (AP) -- A federal jury convicts McAlester's former city manager of embezzlement for taking and misapplying money from the city during a time when it was receiving federal funds.

The panel deliberated nearly 10 hours before finding Randy Green Wednesday night on all five counts.

Prosecutors accused the 53-year-old Green of embezzling at least $5,000 during federal fiscal years in which the city received at least $10,000 in federal money.

The federal money went into the city's general fund, which also paid Green for the unused leave.

Green's attorneys had argued that what their client did wasn't criminal because the city council approved the buybacks.

But former Mayor Dale Covington and others said they never intended to approve hundreds of days of leave buyback for Green.

Green faces as much as 50 years in prison, or 10 years on each count. He could also be fined up to $1.25-million.