Willie Lovett's pension to be garnished

SAVANNAH, GA (WTOC) - A federal judge ordered Tuesday that former Savannah-Chatham Metro Police Chief Willie Lovett's pension be garnished to pay $50,600 in court fines and fees.

Lovett was ordered to pay a $50,000 court fine and a $600 special assessment as part of his sentence for extortion, gambling and making false statements.

Currently, Lovett is serving a 7.5-year prison sentence in West Virginia for those crimes, which a jury convicted him of committing while serving as a high-ranking Metro officer and as police chief. Lovett was convicted in November of taking bribes in exchange for protecting an illegal gambling outfit that came to Savannah on holidays like St. Patrick's Day and Martin Luther King Jr. day.

Lovett is appealing his conviction and sentence to the 11th Circuit District Court.

The former police chief's annual pension is $130,000 a year, 25 percent of which, or $32,500, will now be garnished until his fine is paid.