Former Monroe City Engineer Faces Two Hours of Questioning From Grand Jury
By: Kayleigh Klaustermeier
Updated: February 21, 2013
Former Monroe City Engineer Sinyale Morrison met face-to-face with a grand jury. Morrison faces possible trial for alleged payroll fraud.
Jurors began listening to evidence just before noon and continued to
do so through the late evening.
Morrison was all smiles as she made her way to the Grand Jury room. By her side, Morrison's attorney, Charles Kincaid. Seven witnesses were question by the group of nine jurors.
Among those questioned are Mike Rhymes(Former Human Resource Director), Clovis Hailey(engineer), Paul Oxley(city surveyor), Ann Ross(Morrison Employee), Tammy Jones(Legislative Auditor), and Naci Summersgill (City Attorney). One-by-one they entered the room. Some questioning lasted 15 minutes and others over an hour. Morrison's questioning was the longest, beginning at 4:15 pm and ending at 6:15pm.
In 2011, an audit was performed by the legislative auditor. The audit suggested Morrison may have violated state law when she hired an employee and paid him for work he had not done.
Morrison resigned as city engineer last November.
Once the grand jury is finished hearing evidence and deliberated, they will present their findings to a Judge. They will recommend indicting her or not. If Morrison is indicted, she will face charges for payroll fraud.
