Friday, March 26, 1999
Ousted mayor of Williamstown pleads guilty to bank robbery
BY DAVID ECK
Enquirer Contributor
DAYTON, Ohio — Dressed in drab, blue-and-gray jail clothes, former Williamstown, Ky., Mayor Bob Jones pleaded guilty Thursday to robbing a Kettering bank in November 1998.
Mr. Jones could receive a maximum five years in prison and a $10,000 fine when he is sentenced April 8 by Judge John Kessler of Montgomery County Common Pleas Court.
He was charged after holding up Union Savings Bank Nov. 10, just a week after he lost his bid to return as Williamstown mayor.
Mr. Jones, showing little emotion, spoke in a clear voice in short answers to questions from the judge.
“I think under the circumstances, (the plea) was the best thing for him,” said Dennis Lieberman, his attorney.
Said Montgomery County assistant prosecutor Kenneth Pohlman: “I think we're satisfied with the plea and the sentence will be up to the judge in the case.”
This month, Mr. Jones, 56, was sentenced to seven years in prison for robbing Community National Bank in Springboro on June 24. He pleaded guilty to one count of aggravated robbery in the Warren County heist.
He also was ordered to pay back the $48,127 he stole. A stash of $19,000 found at Mr. Jones' home will be applied to that debt.
When he was mayor, a grand jury indicted Mr. Jones in 1997 on misdemeanor charges of official misconduct and perjury after he was accused of using city money for personal gain, forging a payroll document, lying to a grand jury, misusing city funds and failing to pay personal utility bills.
He pleaded guilty to 11 charges and was placed on probation for two years.
He was ordered to repay Williamstown $2,900 and told to stop distributing his book, Where Pigeons Roost: A Commonwealth Conspiracy.
A hairdresser by trade, Mr. Jones was elected Williamstown mayor in 1993.
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