Nashville Mayor Megan Barry, the now-former mayor of Nashville, pleaded guilty in Davidson County court on Tuesday, March 6, to felony theft charges. As part of her plea agreement, Barry was forced to resign from the office of mayor and pleaded guilty to felony theft of property over $10,000 charges. Furthermore, Barry will receive three years unsupervised probation
According to reports, Barry has been under investigation by the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation and the Metro Council after she admitted to the public on January 31 that she had an extramarital affair with her former head of security, Sgt. Robert Forrest.
In addition to her resignation and probation, Barry also must pay $11,000 in restitution. If Barry follows her plea agreement for next three years, the charges can be dismissed and expunged.
via WKRN:
In Court, District Attorney General Glenn Funk said that had the case gone to trial, witnesses would have testified that between March 2016 and February 2018 Megan Barry caused over $10,000 and no less than $60,000 of Metro Nashville city funds to be expended unlawfully.
Metro Nashville Police records show Forrest’s overtime more than doubled in the budget year after Barry was elected in September 2015. Barry said the affair began in spring 2016, an affidavit said. Barry has not said when the affair ended, only that it’s over. Forrest, who had spent more than 31 years with Metro Nashville Police and supervised the mayor’s security detail over three administrations, has retired.
“I have lots of work to do in this city and every day I get up and I do it,” she said. “I’ve been very forthcoming with everything. I think the citizens of Davidson County continue to want us to get up every day and work. I have a great team, we have great Metro employees that get up every day to make sure this city runs, and I’m going to continue to lead that.”
Barry, born September 22, 1963, is an American businesswoman and politician who served as the 7th mayor of the Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County, becoming the first woman to hold the post. She was sworn into office on September 25, 2015, and resigned March 6, 2018.
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