Hawley comments on Cooper County Clerk’s guilty plea

On Monday, Attorney General Josh Hawley commented on Cooper County Clerk Darryl Kempf pleading guilty to stealing.

Kempf was accused of leasing a 2014 Toyota Tundra on behalf of Cooper County, using county funds. He then improperly used county funds to pay off the remainder of the lease.

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.

Kempf will have to pay restitution in the amount of $4,843.20 to Cooper County and $797.78 to the Missouri Department of Revenue.

On Friday, Kempf also tendered his resignation, as part of the plea agreement.

“My office has zero tolerance for Missourians who abuse their power,” Hawley said. “I promised to fight public corruption-and that is just what I am doing.”