Circuit Judge
Michael Thornsbury consented to disbarment in a letter to the state Office of
Disciplinary Counsel and submitted a one-line resignation letter to state
Supreme Court Justice Brent Benjamin ahead of a hearing in which he was
expected to plead guilty to a conspiracy charge.
The letter, which
was delivered to Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin, read only, “Please accept this letter
as my resignation as Judge of the Thirtieth Judicial Circuit in Mingo County , West
Virginia
Thornsbury, 57,
pleaded guilty of participating in a scheme to protect the reputation of the
late Mingo County Sheriff Eugene Crum.
In exchange for
his guilty plea, prosecutors said they would dismiss charges against Thornsbury
in a separate case in which the judge repeatedly tried to frame his former
secretary’s husband for false crimes to eliminate him as a romantic rival.
