Former Marshall County Revenue Commissioner Joey Masters apparently will NOT be spending any time behind bars after being convicted on a charge of violating the state ethics law.

According to information contained in a news release from Attorney General Luther Strange, the sentence, handed down in Marshall County District Court, called for Masters to spend 12 months in the county jail – however that was suspended for a term of two years supervised probation. He was additionally ordered to pay a fine of $1,000 – and a $100 fee to the Alabama Crime Victim’s Compensation Commission.  Masters must also perform 200 hours of community service.

In a plea agreement, Masters entered a guilty plea to violating the ethics law, by using his official position for personal gain; prosecutors stated that the plea agreement involved Masters’ taking an amount of money on more than one occasion from a cash box in the Revenue Commission office for his personal use.

Evidence indicated that each time, Masters eventually returned the money.

Attorney General Strange said Masters did not have the right to use public funds for personal use regardless of whether or not he paid it back – calling it an abuse of the public trust.

Masters was arrested on November 6th of last year (2013), and submitted his resignation later the same day.