Martin mayor indicted on theft of funds, official misconduct 

Two Martin, Tenn. city officials, including the mayor, are facing indictments over misuse of public funds. (Photo of Martin Administrative Building, City of Martin Facebook)

The Weakley County Grand Jury on Monday indicted Martin, Tenn. Mayor Randal “Randy” Brundige and two other city officials, one of them the mayor’s daughter, for using public funds for travel, meals and, in one case, to funnel money into a personal consulting firm.

Investigators for the Tennessee Comptroller’s Office found Randy Brundige and Bradley “Brad” Thompson, director of Economic and Community Development, used a city-issued credit card at high-end restaurants for meals and alcohol while traveling on city business, once spending $673 on a meal for the pair in 2021. 

The approved state rate for meal reimbursement at the time was $61 per day.

Comptroller’s investigators reviewed documents over a 10-year period from Feb. 1, 2015 to June 13, 2025 and accused Mayor Brundige of misappropriating at least $10,900. 

Thompson, who owns a firm called One Consulting, billed the city for grant-writing and administrative services performed by the firm that were already part of his official duties. According to a Comptroller’s report, Thompson misappropriated $274,000 via One Consulting. Brundige approved all payments to One Consulting without a contract between the firm and the city.

Thompson also used a city credit card for luxury travel, including a trip to Italy.

“This case is troubling because it involves a sitting mayor and a senior city official,” said Comptroller Jason Mumpower. “City officials must ensure strong internal controls are in place to protect public funds including monitoring credit card use, enforcing travel policies, and reviewing employee timesheets.”

Randy Brundige’s daughter, Natalie Brundige, who was custodian for the Martin Police Department, where her duties were described as sweeping, mopping, dusting and emptying trash cans, earned $174,000 in salary, leave, and benefits. Evidence showed she routinely worked only about two hours of her scheduled eight-hour shifts over a six-year period. 

Randy Brundige was indicted on four counts of theft of property over $60,000, one count of accessory after the fact, one count of theft of property over $10,000, and four counts of official misconduct. Thompson was indicted on one count of theft of property over $60,000, four counts of official misconduct, and one count of theft of property over $10,000.

The grand jury indicted Natalie Brundige on one count of theft of property over $60,000 and one count of official misconduct.
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