Cooper County Clerk Darryl Kempf has pled guilty to stealing.
Kempf was accused of leasing a 2014 Toyota Tundra on behalf of Cooper County using county funds, according to the office of Missouri Attorney General Josh Hawley. Kempf, then, improperly used county funds to pay off the remainder of the lease.
In addition, Kempf asked his deputy clerk to sign an affidavit saying the truck was being given to him and had the vehicle titled in his name in the Columbia license office. Because it was a gift, Kempf did not have to pay sales tax on the vehicle.
Per a plea agreement, Kempf was sentenced to six months in the Cooper County Jail. The sentence was suspended, and Kempf was placed on two years of court-supervised probation. As a condition of probation, Kempf will pay restitution in the amount of $4,843.20 to Cooper County and $797.78 to the Missouri Department of Revenue.
Kempf also tendered his resignation, effective immediately, as part of the plea agreement.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant Attorney General Locke Thompson.