Forgery charges against Cairo mayor dropped

CAIRO, Ill. -- A judge has thrown out felony official misconduct and forgery charges against the mayor, clerk and former treasurer of this small southern Illinois community.

Williamson County Judge John Allen Speroni said Monday there was insufficient evidence to try Cairo Mayor Paul Farris, city clerk DeBran Sudduth and former city treasurer Charles McGinnis.

State prosecutors charged them on May 5 with illegally depositing about $50,000 in city funds into an account at a Pulaski County bank shortly after an election in 2003. Municipal rules require city money to be deposited in certain banks in Cairo, which is in Alexander County.

"We presented our evidence to the judge, which we believe was sufficient to establish probable cause that a crime was committed," Melissa Merz, a spokeswoman for the Illinois attorney general's office, said Tuesday afternoon. "The judge disagreed. We accept his ruling."

City attorney Alan McIntyre has said the account was opened in Pulaski County because a Cairo bank refused to honor the signatures of the treasurer and city clerk.

Farris said he would stay in office despite opposition from several city council members who have called for his ouster.

"I still hope and pray that these six individuals, who have been elected by the same people who elected me, will go back and do their duties as a council," Farris said.