Former Superintendent Pleads Guilty in Embezzlement Scheme

A former Leake County school superintendent faces up to five years in federal prison after admitting to his role in an embezzlement scheme.  Earl Joe Nelson entered a guilty plea to a conspiracy charge before a district judge in Aberdeen Tuesday.  Prosecutors say Nelson and another superintendent, Mario Willis, used their positions to enter into reciprocal contracts for consulting services that were overpriced or not actually provided.  As superintendent of the Clarksdale schools, Nelson arranged for the district to pay Willis more than $25 thousand, and later, as the Leake superintendent, he funneled more than $23 thousand to Willis.  Nelson received more than $94 thousand from the Hollandale school district while Willis was serving as the superintendent there.