Armstrong Iowa Mayor and Police Chief in Hot Water
The small Iowa town of Armstrong is barely a blip on the map, but today the village of 840 people hit the New York Post with a blockbuster of a story fitting of the tabloid.
It's reported that the mayor and police chief of Armstrong, Iowa (along with a city clerk or two) are being charged with abuse of power allegations, ranging from stealing money to strong-arming town citizens.
The New York Post says Iowa's Attorney General’s Office filed charges on Thursday February 11 after an investigation uncovered charges of theft, felonious misconduct, tampering with records, and even an assault with a dangerous weapon.
Wow, and you thought YOUR small town officials were bad!
The individuals who are being charged are Mayor Greg Buum, Armstrong Police Chief Craig Merrill, City Clerk Tracie Lang, and former city clerk Connie Thackery.
It sounds a bit like a country song (think "Harper Valley PTA") because as we all know, every town has a little Peyton Place going on (drama). And as Miranda Lambert sings, everyone is famous in a small town.
But what a shocker this is turning into!
It was reported that one of the defendants actually deployed a Taser on a civilian in exchange for cash! The New York Post did not identify which of the four was charged with the taser incident, but whoever did it will not be getting a Christmas card from the city next year.
All four individuals are facing serious felony charges. And if that isn't bad enough, there are more arrests expected in the near future.
While Armstrong might not make your list of best small towns in America, here are a few towns that do fare a bit better in their reputation.