JONESBOROUGH, Tenn. (WJHL) — A local assistant district attorney has been charged with bribery.
William McManus with the First Judicial District Attorney General’s Office was arrested in a sting operation Thursday following an investigation by the district attorney’s office and federal agents.
The First Judicial District includes Washington, Unicoi, Carter, and Johnson counties.
“Information was received a few weeks ago concerning the possibility of Mr. McManus’ involvement with illegal activity concerning a prostitute,” said District Attorney Ken Baldwin in a news release. “Based on this information, I immediately contacted my investigators and initiated an investigation, which resulted in the arrest today of Mr. McManus and the termination of his employment at the time of his arrest.”
Baldwin says he has requested a pro-tem prosecutor for the case since McManus worked for the district attorney’s office and it was the district attorney’s office that initiated the investigation.
“It is not appropriate to be the prosecutor in this case, based on the fact, that I initiated the investigation and the defendant was a prosecutor at the time of the arrest,” Baldwin stated. “By removing the District Attorney’s Office from this matter, it avoids any ethical issues that may arise, as well as, the elimination of what someone may perceive as favoritism.”
The investigation is ongoing.
