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.
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