— A top Arkansas lawmaker pleaded guilty Monday to federal charges that he pocketed thousands of dollars in state funds intended to go toward the construction of a sports complex, and said he planned to step down. Files is the second lawmaker in a little over a year to plead guilty to charges related to misuse of state surplus funds that were intended to go toward local projects. Republican former state Rep. Micah Neal pleaded guilty last year to one count of fraud related to the case. The state Supreme Court in October said the system of grants lawmakers had used to fund local projects with the state surplus money violated Arkansas’ constitution. Files had supported the hybrid program, which uses federal and state funds to purchase private insurance for low-income residents.

Source: National Post January 29, 2018 23:04 UTC