McDonough police chief’s wife accused of theft

By MEGAN MATTEUCCI

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

The McDonough police chief’s wife was fired from her job as a municipal clerk after admitting to stealing city money, city officials said Monday.

McDonough City Administrator Billy Beckett said he fired Callie Dorsey on Thursday. Dorsey, 49, had worked as an administrative clerk at McDonough City Hall since February 2004.

“Mr. Beckett made his decision after Ms. Dorsey admitted to misappropriating city funds,” the city said in a statement. “Her admission was initially made during the course of an ongoing investigation into possible financial improprieties revealed by the city’s annual audit, and was confirmed by her in a meeting with Mr. Beckett on Aug. 6.”

Dorsey is married to McDonough Police Chief Preston Dorsey.

As of Monday evening, no charges had been filed and the investigation is ongoing, city spokeswoman Casey Case said. Case said she did not know how much money was missing.

A woman who answered the phone at Dorsey’s home Tuesday night said she was not available.

Chief Preston Dorsey, who remains on duty, said he learned about the situation last week from the Henry County district attorney’s office.

“I was taken by complete surprise,” the chief said in a statement. “This is not something I could have ever envisioned.”

Beckett said that he has “absolutely no reason to believe” that the chief was involved or aware of the wife’s actions. Beckett said he continues to have “full support and confidence” in the chief.

“Like a lot of people who know and love Callie, I am hoping for some sort of explanation - something that will help me make sense of this,” the chief said in his statement. “But that has not happened yet.”

The district attorney is handling the investigation and McDonough police are not involved, the chief said.

“There is no actual or potential conflict of interest,” the chief said.

The chief said he will not allow his wife’s termination to affect his ability to do his job. But it is up to the city administrator, mayor and council whether he goes on administrative leave.

Mayor Billy Copeland and Henry County District Attorney Tommy Floyd did not immediately return phone calls Tuesday night.