NASHVILLE (AP) - Davidson County Clerk John Arriola has resigned amid a probe of questionable financial practices.
District Attorney General Torry Johnson asked the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation last year to look into allegations about Arriola raised in a series of news stories on WTVF-TV. They included Arriola charging couples for weddings and paying a 'ghost employee' who rarely worked.
State auditors found Arriola collected approximately $119,400 over a five-year period by charging $40 for weddings. It is illegal for a clerk to charge a fee for this duty. Arriola has claimed the money was a gratuity, which it is legal to request, but auditors found employees did not advise people seeking to be married that the $40 was optional.
According to Johnson's office, Arriola submitted his resignation on Monday, effective June 29.
After the resignation, Johnson announced that he would conclude the investigation and not pursue crimi nal charges.
"Whether the money in question in this case was an illegal fee or a permitted gratuity would likely be determined only after protracted and costly litigation," Johnson said in a written statement to the media. "I believe it is in the best interest of the residents of Davidson County to accept Mr. Arriola's resignation and allow the (Metro) Council to begin the process of selecting a qualified replacement."
Also resigning was Arriola's campaign treasurer, Leighton Bush, whom Arriola put on the Metro government payroll at 20 hours a week.
Emails show that Bush spent much of his time at the office not working on county business, but rather on tasks like fundraisers. He also skipped administration meetings because of conflicts with his insurance business, and sometimes disappeared for long periods.
A WTVF-TV investigation found Bush had not swiped into the office for months.
Johnson did not address the allegations about Bush specifically in his announcement, but did say more generally that other actions by Arriola may have been questionable or violated Metro policy but were not necessarily criminal.
"As an elected official, Mr. Arriola had a lot of discretion on how to run the office," Johnson said.