Norman trial to start Monday

Published 1:10 pm Saturday, May 7, 2011

Jury selection will begin Monday in Freeborn County District Court in the trial of former Albert Lea City Manager Jim Norman.

Court schedules state jury selection will start at 8:30 a.m.

The trial has been slated for five days.

Jim Norman

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Mower County District Court Judge Fred W. Wellmann will preside.

Norman, 57, who now lives in Wisconsin, faces eight counts, including six counts of permitting false claims against government, one count of theft with the intent to exercise temporary control and one count of misconduct by a public officer.

All charges are felonies except for the last charge, which is a gross misdemeanor.

He is accused of misusing the city-issued credit card for about $2,300 in personal purchases. He is being prosecuted by Brenda Miller, special prosecutor with the Waseca County Attorney’s Office after an investigation by the Waseca Police Department.

New to the position, Norman has argued in public that he was misled and has repaid the debt to the city.

He started full time as city manager in Albert Lea on May 3, 2010, but was placed on administrative leave Aug. 27 after initial charges were filed.

He resigned as city manager in September as part of a separation agreement between him and the City Council, which resulted from the pending litigations.

He had been in the position less than six months.

He pleaded not guilty to all charges in February.