MOUNTAIN CITY, Tenn. (WVLT) -- An audit of the Johnson Co. Mayor's Office finds more than $40,000 worth of solid waste transfer station fees were misappropriated, according to the state Comptroller's Office. The investigation, which was conducted by the Comptroller's Division of County Audit, also found the county's former Solid Waste Director Tim Keene allowed his son to remove scrap metal from a transfer station and sell it for his own gain.

The audit revealed that between Novemeber 2010 and August 2011 Keene allegedly failed to deposit nearly $22,000 worth of fees. It also claims he did deposit over $18,000 worth of waste collection checks, but then turned around and removed an equal amount of cash. Plus, it alleges he kept $800 collected for sewer inspections to the Dept. of Environment and Conservation.

During the investigation, Keene reportedly admitted to letting his son sell an undetermined amount of scrap metal. Information on that has been handed over to the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation.

Keene was immediately suspended by the County Mayor upon learning of a cash shortage. The shortage was also reported to the local district attorney general.