Ex-tech director arrested in thefts
Rogers man has quit county post
FAYETTEVILLE — The technology director of Washington County, who resigned in January, is accused of stealing county property, according to an arrest report.
John Adams, 56, of 3906 W. Easy St. in Rogers was arrested Tuesday at the Washington County jail on felony theft of property charges. He was released the same day with no bond, according to jail logs.
Fayetteville police said it appeared that Adams made some personal purchases on a card issued for county purchases. The report did not specify what kind of card. Some invoices were altered, and in some instances, the addresses on invoices were changed from Adams’ personal address to the courthouse before being submitted to the county, according to the report.
County Attorney Brian Lester notified police about the suspected thefts Jan. 11, according to the report. Police opened an investigation into how Adams handled his county purchasing card, invoices and county equipment, the police report said. The investigation is ongoing.
Adams resigned sometime in January after being put on administrative leave, Lester said. Lester said he didn’t know the date Adams resigned.
Adams was required to return any county equipment to get his last paycheck, but about $30,000 worth of county equipment
still missing or unaccounted for, according to the report.
Adams did not return a message left on his personal cellphone Wednesday afternoon. A county cellphone number for Adams had been disconnected.
Adams was director of the Information Systems Department,
a position that pays about $95,000 a year, according to the 2018 county budget.
He was hired in 2010 by former County Judge Marilyn Edwards, according to county records.
County Judge Joseph Wood did not return a message left on his cellphone Wednesday afternoon.
Lester said the county has and will continue to make changes to prevent similar occurrences. An employee in the Information Systems Department has been promoted to director, Lester said.
The information systems director runs and maintains county technology, including handling Internet issues, internal systems, telephones and application servers. Adams managed seven employees and a budget of about $1 million, according to county records.
Adams has a March 16 hearing scheduled in Washington County Circuit Court.