Kansas town mayor sends email with nude images to council member's brother

Posted on July 28th, 2010 under Email Mistakes and Misfortunes

Mike Vestal, the mayor of Tonganoxie, Kansas is under fire once again for email abuse involving his city account.

At a recent city council meeting, Councilwoman Paula Crook twice referenced an email Vestal had sent to her brother, which reportedly contains nude images. Vestal admitted to the email abuse at the meeting, stating "it was a mistake on my part. I ask your forgiveness. I will never, never do this again."

Crook was with her brother on July 14 when the email from Vestal came across the web. According to Crook, it involved pictures that "made me blush."

This is the second time Vestal has been involving in such a case. In September 2007, he admitted to sending an email from his same city computer that contained a naked image of a woman and stated "Next Monday is National Female Breast Appreciation Day." In response to the outcry over the email, Vestal offered to resign his position, which he ultimately did not do.

The abuse of email on city computer systems has become a real issue in the U.S. recently. Several politicians have reprimanded and even fired campaign employees for sending out unauthorized emails displaying the official in a bad light.