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VietnameseGriffin: ‘You can’t lie about your criminal record on an official election form and expect to get away with it’
LITTLE ROCK – Attorney General Tim Griffin released the following statement announcing the arrest of Joey Wertz, 47, of Dyer on the charge of Political Practices Pledge, a Class D Felony:
“Joey Wertz ran for a seat on the Dyer City Council in 2024, and on his political practices pledge form, he indicated he had never been convicted of a felony. But in 1998, Wertz was convicted of Burglary, and in 2000 he was convicted of Theft of Leased Property, both felonies.
“Kevin Holmes, the Prosecuting Attorney for the 21st Judicial District, asked my Special Investigations Division to investigate this case, and one of my investigators arrested Wertz yesterday on this public integrity charge.
“In this case, the law perfectly aligns with what should be common sense: You can’t lie about your criminal record on an official election form and expect to get away with it. I am grateful to my Special Investigations Division for their diligent work on this case and to Kevin Holmes for his support and referral.”
Wertz was transported Thursday to the Crawford County Detention Center, and a $5,000 bond was set in his case.
To download a PDF of the release, click here.
About Attorney General Tim Griffin
Tim Griffin was sworn in as the 57th Attorney General of Arkansas on January 10, 2023, having previously served as the state’s 20th Lieutenant Governor from 2015-2023. From 2011-2015, Griffin served as the 24th representative of Arkansas’s Second Congressional District, where he served on the House Committee on Ways and Means, House Armed Services Committee, House Committee on Foreign Affairs, House Committee on Ethics and House Committee on the Judiciary while also serving as a Deputy Whip for the Majority.
Griffin is currently an officer in the Arkansas Army National Guard and holds the rank of colonel. Griffin served as an officer in the U.S. Army Reserve Judge Advocate General’s (JAG) Corps for more than 28 years. In 2005, Griffin was mobilized to active duty as an Army prosecutor at Fort Campbell, Kentucky, and served with the 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) in Mosul, Iraq.
His previous assignments include serving as the Commander of the 2d Legal Operations Detachment in New Orleans, Louisiana; the Commander of the 134th Legal Operations Detachment at Fort Bragg, North Carolina; and as a Senior Legislative Advisor to the Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness at the Pentagon. Griffin earned a master’s degree in strategic studies as a Distinguished Honor Graduate from the U.S. Army War College, Carlisle Barracks, Pennsylvania.
Griffin also served as U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Arkansas, and Special Assistant to the President and Deputy Director of Political Affairs for President George W. Bush; Special Assistant to Assistant Attorney General Michael Chertoff, Criminal Division, U.S. Department of Justice; Special Assistant U.S. Attorney, U.S. Attorney’s Office, Eastern District of Arkansas; Senior Investigative Counsel, Government Reform and Oversight Committee, U.S. House of Representatives; and Associate Independent Counsel, Office of Independent Counsel David M. Barrett, In re: HUD Secretary Henry Cisneros.
Griffin is a graduate of Magnolia High School, Hendrix College in Conway, and Tulane Law School in New Orleans. He attended graduate school at Oxford University. He is admitted to practice law in Arkansas (active) and Louisiana (inactive). Griffin lives in Little Rock with his wife, Elizabeth, a Camden native, and their three children.
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