A former Tuscaloosa, Alabama, tourism bureau director with Columbus ties was recently arrested and charged with theft in Alabama.
A Tuscaloosa County prosecutor confirmed to The Dispatch on Wednesday that Robert Ratliff was arrested Oct. 1 and charged with one count of theft of property, first degree. The 54-year-old’s indictment states he is accused of stealing $80,300 from the Alabama-Mississippi Rural Tourism Conference, according to Tuscaloosa County Chief Deputy District Attorney Jonathan Cross.
Ratliff is a Columbus native.
Columbus-Lowndes Convention and Visitors Bureau Executive Director Nancy Carpenter said Ratliff at one time was an independent contractor who provided social media coordinating services for the CVB. However, it has been nearly three years since the CVB has done any business with Ratliff.
“That was the extent of the CVB doing any business with him was just managing a social media campaign,” Carpenter said. “I met him through the CVB and through other tourism specialists in Mississippi. He was associated with several different organizations here when I came in 2008.”
Ratliff was given a $30,000 bond after his Oct. 1 arrest. He was released the same day after posting bond. His arraignment is scheduled for Dec. 4 in Tuscaloosa County Circuit Court, according to Cross.
The rural tourism conference’s website states that it is a cooperative effort between tourism officials in the two states to bolster tourism in smaller communities.
Ratliff was the director of the Tuscaloosa Convention and Visitors Bureau for 14 years until his resignation in 2011. Ratliff told the Tuscaloosa News upon his resignation that he would be employed by a Mississippi company that provides internet support for businesses, as well as tourism and marketing organizations.
Ratliff’s LinkedIn profile states that half a year after he stepped down as Tuscaloosa’s tourism chief, he joined the Alabama Media Group as a multi-marketing specialist and that he left the company this month.
Nathan Gregory covers city and county government for The Dispatch.
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