Caswell Beach mayor indicted for 18 felonies

BRUNSWICK COUNTY, NC (WWAY) — A Brunswick County Grand Jury has indicted the mayor of Caswell Beach for 18 felony offenses, the District Attorney’s Office said.

The charges against Harry Simmons, including four counts of obtaining property by false pretenses of $100,000 or more and three counts of embezzlement of $100,000 or more, are in connection with his handling of funds for the Brunswick Beach Consortium, a news release said.

SBI agents and Brunswick County Sheriff’s deputies arrested Simmons in Caswell Beach earlier today. A judge set bond for Simmons at $1 million.

In November 2014, the Caswell Beach Town Council stripped Simmons of his powers as mayor and assign them to Mayor Pro Tem Deborah Ahlers. The move came amid questions of money the town has paid for a lobbying firm through the Brunswick Beaches Consortium (BBC). Simmons served as chair of the BBC, which is a joint program to restore and maintain beaches for the county’s coastal towns. The questions concerned how Simmons spent money earmarked for lobbying services that he apparently paid to himself.

“I have always understood that the latitude I was given allowed me to also be compensated or reimbursed as needed,” Simmons said in a statement e-mailed to WWAY the next day. “Since that time invoices have been submitted to and paid by the interested Consortium members, with only a couple of recent changes, and I have managed the effort to the best of my ability.”

The town council that night also voted to leave the BBC, which later changed its name and focus.

District Attorney Jon David has scheduled a new conference for tomorrow at 11 a.m.