The undercover informant who helped the FBI take down former Hamilton County Sheriff Billy Long has been slapped with an arrest warrant for failing to pay restitution in an old worthless check case.
On Thursday and for the third time, Clarence Eugene Overstreet failed to show up in Hamilton County Criminal Court so a judge could assess his court-ordered restitution payments. The 2003 state case involved the passing of two worthless checks totaling $11,000.
Criminal Court Judge Don Poole has issued an arrest warrant and a $5,000 bond against Mr. Overstreet as a result.
The bad checks case to which Mr. Overstreet pleaded guilty in 2006 had nothing to do with the investigation against Mr. Long more than two years ago, which resulted in a prison sentence of 14 years for the former sheriff. But court documents indicate the restitution payments Mr. Overstreet promised to make would become a huge burden after he agreed to become an FBI informant and lost his livelihood over the course of the government sting operation.
“(Mr. Overstreet) became a key witness in the (Billy Long case), and restitution payments were interrupted,” a 2008 probation violation report states.
See tomorrow’s Times Free Press for complete details.