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 by Gov. Brian Kemp last week after a review panel concluded that the charges hurt his ability to perform his job, the AP reports.
- 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.