Cotton Valley mayor accused of twice mishandling town funds

COTTON VALLEY, LA (KSLA) - The mayor of Cotton Valley is accused of mishandling the Webster Parish town's funds twice last year.

Mayor Joseph Alexander was arrested Tuesday on a charge of felony abuse of power.

He now is free on $1,000 bond after having been booked into Bayou Dorcheat Correctional Center, Webster Sheriff Gary Sexton said.

The arrest was made by members of the Louisiana State Police investigative bureau's field office in Shreveport.

The Webster Parish Sheriff's Office had called them in to investigate, according to a statement LSP released late Tuesday night.

Their inquiry of the past several months led to Alexander being suspected of misusing money from the town clerk's office on two separate occasions in 2017.

That investigation is ongoing.

Alexander has been mayor of Cotton Valley since Jan. 1, 2017. His term expires Dec. 31, 2020.

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