Ford Heights voters appear to have elected Charles R. Griffin, a former mayor whose attorney said accusations that he embezzled nearly $150,000 in public funds were a political ploy.

Unofficial results showed Griffin besting Annie Coulter, the incumbent mayor who ousted Griffin in 2017, and four village trustees in a six-way race to lead the Bloom Township village of 2,736 residents.

“The people spoke,” Griffin said Wednesday. “The town is heading in the wrong direction. We’re going to straighten it out. We’re going to get it back together.”

Griffin himself seemed headed in the wrong direction Aug. 23, 2018, when authorities hauled him to jail. Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx said at the time Griffin was charged with felony offenses for alleged theft and official misconduct.

“Theft by a person in a position of public trust is unacceptable

and will not be tolerated,” Foxx said in a 2018 news release. “We would like to thank our law enforcement partners at the local and federal level for their work on this case, as we continue to root out corruption on behalf of Cook County residents who deserve honest government.”

The State’s Attorney’s Office Public Corruption and Financial Crimes Unit, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation’s Office of the Inspector General, the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Cook County Sheriff’s Financial Crimes Unit jointly conducted an investigation, Foxx said at the time.

Now, two and a half years later, Ford Heights citizens have apparently returned Griffin to office. The criminal case against Griffin remains pending, said Phillip Turner, an attorney representing Griffin.

“In my opinion, it was all a political ploy to try to remove Charles from office,” Turner said Wednesday.

Turner accused Coulter of orchestrating the accusations against Griffin and said Coulter is a political ally of Foxx. Coulter did not immediately respond Wednesday to a request for comment.

Griffin served two terms as mayor, from 2009 to 2017. Coulter defeated Griffin by 37 votes in a three-way 2017 contest in which LaDell Jones Sr. picked up 22% of the vote.

Jones was among four village trustees who ran for mayor in this election, in addition to Coulter. Jones appeared to finish second with 24% of the vote after ballots were tallied Tuesday night. Results are unofficial until certified. The deadline to canvass results is April 27.

Unofficial results showed Griffin with 243 votes, Jones with 155 and Coulter with 59. Three other trustees in the race were James E. Morgan (99 votes), Jimmie Watson (42 votes) and Scottie L. Hatten (40 votes).

The Ford Heights village election generated an impressive number of candidates considering the village’s relatively small size. Ten people vied for three seats on the village board. Unofficial results showed the top three vote-getters were Freddie L. Wilson (266), Tyreese L. Andrews (232) and incumbent Trustee Antoina Tina McMichales (210).

Village clerk Nyree D. Ford appeared to stave off a challenge by winning 56.3% of the vote over Chaiyah Sanders. Ford, Jones and McMichales ran together on a Stronger Together Party slate with two other trustee candidates.

Ford Heights, formerly called East Chicago Heights, ranks among the nation’s most impoverished communities. The Cook County sheriff’s office has patrolled the town since the village disbanded its police department in 2008.

Sheriff Tom Dart and others helped build a youth baseball field that was dedicated in 2017. Dart’s office Wednesday declined to comment about the election results.

Griffin told me he accomplished a lot during his eight years as mayor.

“We brought in Family Dollar,” he said, referring to one of the few businesses in town. “We resurfaced streets and cleaned up the town before I left in 2017.”

Foxx accused Griffin of cleaning out village bank accounts and spending funds for personal use at Walmart, Home Depot, Menards and other stores.

“Soon after Griffin left office, the village discovered irregular activity in accounts at BMO Harris Bank under the village’s name that did not appear to have been previously disclosed to the village trustees and or other village officials,” Foxx said in the 2018 release.

Two funds listed Griffin’s personal address, authorities said. One of the accounts contained deposits from the state treasurer’s office that represented the village’s share of taxes on video gaming, the state’s attorney alleged.

“Significant portions of the funds withdrawn from this account were used for Griffin’s personal expenses,” the office said in 2018. Foxx’s office did not immediately respond Wednesday to a request for comment on the election results.

Griffin was released on bond shortly after his 2018 arrest. He referred questions about the criminal charges to his attorney, Turner, who told reporters in 2018 that Griffin was innocent.

“One thing that is absolutely clear is that Charles Griffin did not steal any money from the village of Ford Heights, and he never would,” Turner said at the time. “In fact, he spent a lot of his own money and a lot of his time where he didn’t have to in trying to help people in Ford Heights.”

Prosecutors said in 2018 that Griffin had no prior criminal history. State law prohibits felons from holding municipal office. However, nothing legally precludes defendants awaiting trial from seeking or holding public office.

In Crestwood, for example, Mayor Lou Presta appeared to win a third term Tuesday with an overwhelming share of the vote despite pending federal charges accusing him of accepting a bribe to promote a red-light camera company.

Ted Slowik is a columnist for the Daily Southtown.

tslowik@tribpub.com