LONGVIEW, Texas (KLTV) - Former Mount Pleasant City Manager Edward Daniels Thatcher, 74, testified in his own defense Wednesday in his trial on charges of theft and misappropriation of fiduciary property."I've been waiting for 3 years to explain this to somebody, and I'm ready to do that," he said on the stand.

Thatcher said the council discussed a travel program along with raises.

He said there had not been a raise in decades from $25 a month.