Unhappy Taxpayer & Voter and Restore DeKalb Request DA and Solicitor General Prosecute Judy Brownlee
PRESS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
JUNE 24, 2016
FROM: Viola Davis, Co-Founder
Unhappy Taxpayer and Voter
CONTACT:
Phone: 770-256-0034
Email: UnhappyTaxpayers@gmail.com
Website: http://unhappytaxpayerandvoter.com
Fact Sheet: Unhappy Taxpayer & Voter and Restore DeKalb is requesting District Attorney Robert James and Solicitor General Sherry Boston Prosecute Judy Brownlee to the “Fullest Extent” of the Law
Unhappy Taxpayer and Voter and Restore DeKalb is requesting District Attorney Robert James and Solicitor General Sherry Boston prosecute Judy Brownlee to the “fullest extent” of the law, especially after the May 16, 2016 ruling of the DeKalb County Board of Ethics for the following state law violations to include:
1) Failure to properly preserve government records in violation of the Georgia Records Act O.C.G.A. 50-18-90 et seq. and 22A (c) (7) of the Ethics Code (Engaging in an activity prohibited by law). Specifically, failure to maintain purchase card receipts.
2) Theft by taking, theft by deception, false certification by employee, making a false statement in violation of O.C.G.A 16-8-3, 16-10-9 and 16-10-20 and 22A (c ) (7) of the Ethics Code (Engaging in an activity prohibited by law). Specifically, purchase of gift cards with County funds for personal use, improper purchase of personal items on government issued purchasing card without reimbursement to the County in many cases.
3) Theft by deception, false certification by employee, making a false statement in violation of O.C.G.A. 16-10-3, 16-10-8 and 16-10-21 (b) and 22A (c) (7) of the Ethics Code (Engaging in an activity prohibited by law). Specifically, use of County time to attend political event.
Unhappy Taxpayer & Voter and Restore DeKalb continue to be victorious in holding elected officials and government staff accountable for violating the public’s trust. We originally filed our complaint against Commissioner Sharon Barnes Sutton and Judy Brownlee on May 30, 2014. We have waited patiently for nearly two years for justice.
We presented an earlier ethics complaint against Commissioner Sharon Barnes Sutton and Judy Brownlee to the DeKalb County Board of Ethics that was well documented and showed Barnes Sutton and Brownlee violated codes within Section 22A (c) (1-7) of the DeKalb County Code of Ordinances known as the Code of Ethics, as well as violation of state statutes.
Unfortunately, Barnes Sutton filed a lawsuit against the Board of Ethics proclaiming the board was unconstitutional. She questioned the authority of the board to sit in judgment of officials’ behavior, arguing that it undermines the fundamental due process rights. Despite DeKalb voters approving the new ethics law by 92% back in November of 2015, Sharon Barnes Sutton delayed the ethics board hearings which ultimately denied the public justice.
On February 9, 2016, Unhappy Taxpayer and Voter and Restore DeKalb requested the appointment of a Special Prosecutor and expansion of the Public Integrity Unit to help restore public trust. We initially submitted our request to the DeKalb County Board of Ethics concerning our ethics complaint against Commissioner Sharon Barnes Sutton and Judy Brownlee due to our strong belief that the charges were criminal in nature.
However, Commissioner Sharon Barnes Sutton has chosen to sue the DeKalb County Board of Ethics as a delay tactic. We questioned the reason Commissioner Barnes Sutton waited until her final hearing (approximately 1 ½ years) to initiate her lawsuit.
History of criminal charges against elected officials and government staff:
1. Burrell Ellis
a. Burrell Ellis, former CEO of DeKalb County, was charged with 15 felony counts in his initial indictment in 2013.
b. The initial indictment included theft by taking, criminal attempt to commit false statements and writings, and coercion of other employee to give anything of value for political purposes.
2. Clarissa Brown
a. Clarissa Brown, former executive assistant to DA Robert James, received a ten count felony indictment for stealing on purchase cards.
b. Unhappy Taxpayer & Voter requested the purchase card charges for Clarissa Brown on December 9, 2014 through an Open Records Request:
i. Gwinnett case number 15-FT-00594-8 (Quasi – Fast Track Case) was filed two years after Brown was fired approximately December 29, 2015.
ii. Brown pleaded guilty January 2016.
c. Clarissa Brown was fired from her position after the violations were discovered and DA Robert James requested a special prosecutor.
d. Clarissa Brown pleaded to ten counts of felony for theft by taking, etc.
e. Brown pleaded guilty to using her government charge card for car repairs, property taxes and plane tickets.
3. Bob Lundsten
a. Bod Lundsten was indicted with nine counts of felony in 2014-2015.
b. Bob Lundsten’s indictment was for as little as $300.00 despite his repayment of prior questionable charges.
c. Bob Lundsten was originally charged with six counts of theft by taking and three counts of making false statements.
d. The charges against Bob Lundsten were decreased to misdemeanors in an out of court settlement.
e. Under an agreement with prosecutors, Lundsten pleaded guilty to three counts of misdemeanor obstruction.
4. Stan Watson
a. Stan Watson was accused of Driving Under the Influence (DUI) after an altercation against two women in a local club.
b. Stan Watson was videotaped by local police and a police report was written that provided serious accusations of DUI.
c. Solicitor General Sherry Boston requested a special prosecutor to intervene to review Stan Watson’s case for prosecution.
We submit that the charges voted on by the DeKalb County Board of Ethics involve violations of state statutes. We believe that our ethics complaint rises to criminal charges. These criminal charges must be address by both our District Attorney and Solicitor General to “truly” restore the public’s trust and remind everyone that laws are enforced “equally”. We are forwarding the complaint with supporting documentation from the Board of Ethics to both departments to examine for prosecution.
If these charges create a conflict of interest situation, Unhappy Taxpayer and Voter and Restore DeKalb are once again requesting the appointment of a Special Prosecutor.
We request the prosecution of Judy Brownlee because new evidence, documentation and witnesses have come forth to prove the code of ethics and the “state laws” were violated. The additional information proved that the actions of a select group of elected officials and top administrators undermined the law to the point that the ethics case against Judy Brownlee would need to be forwarded to the District Attorney and Solicitor General for prosecution.
The serious complaints against Judy Brownlee are presented for the purposes of requesting these issues move forward. Thus far, we have presented complaints that have enough evidence to warrant criminal investigations. We have presented complaints that are factual, well researched and command results. There are those who claim we must end these cases for the county to move forward. However, how can we end cases that have never “really been open”.
Our request for the prosecution of Judy Brownlee must be addressed by the District Attorney and/or Solicitor General to ensure justice. We request equal justice under the law. We ask for an appointment of a Special Prosecutor by Attorney General Sam Olens if anyone views such actions as a conflict of interest.
Read an article at the link: http://crossroadsnews.com/news/2016/jun/03/ethics-board-fines-barnes-sutton-aide/
https://www.scribd.com/document/317834755/Prosecution-of-Sharon-Barnes-Sutton-and-Judy-Brownlee-to-the-Fullest-Extent-of-the-Law
What Defines Criminal Activity in DeKalb County?
What Defines Criminal Activity in DeKalb County?
By Viola Davis, May 9, 2016
A coalition of activist, organizations, business owners, etc. have joined together to demand transparency, ethics and accountability from DeKalb County government. We search for the “truth” that will remove the “cloud of corruption” and restore public trust by demanding the following request:
• A special prosecutor assigned by a federal or state agency
• A forensic audit of the Watershed, Purchasing and Contracting Departments
• Expansion of the Public Integrity Unit beyond the District Attorney’s Office with federal oversight
Why?
The coalition is making these requests due to the recent article published in the AJC in the month of April, this year, concerning the grand jury report. This article stated that District Attorney Robert James made the following statements:
• James told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution he’s completed a review of the grand jury’s findings, and not enough evidence exists to bring charges against nine people highlighted in the report. He declined to discuss three others named in the report. While the special grand jury uncovered serious concerns about inappropriate behavior, the conduct wasn’t necessarily criminal, the district attorney said.
• “We don’t make decisions based on what things look like,” James said. “We make decisions based on facts and evidence.”
DeKalb District Attorney Robert James and Senior Assistant District Attorney Cynthia Hill presented the findings of their review of a special…
The DeKalb County LSBE vendors voted to make the information public that we gave to law enforcement. The LSBE vendors were very upset that DA James proclaimed that there was no need to investigate issues/people concerning the grand jury report, particularly in the Watershed Department.
We are forwarding information on one particular contract for $1.4 million dollars. After submitting an Open Records Request and receiving Kelvin Walton’s emails, our researchers went through (and continue to go through) over 20,000 emails and hundreds of attachments. We found an attachment that provided the amount of money paid out on different contracts. The contract for $1.4 million paid out over $72 million dollars. Please note that this is the same contract that the FBI indicted two county employees for extortion and bribery in 2012.
I, Viola Davis, personally spoke to the contractor, and he said he did receive the $1.4 million dollars. However, he did not know anything about the $72 million. Our question is, who received the money?
We ask that you review the documents we delivered to District Attorney Robert James. We did not deliver the attachment of documents that involve the $72 million dollars because of the lack of action on former documents presented to the District Attorney’s Office. We are presenting these documents to the public to review and decide if there is enough information to demand action and another outside third party review for criminal activity.
We have the following questions for District Attorney Robert James to answer to include:
1. Is it criminal and/or illegal for the Board of Commissioners to vote on a local contract for approximately $1.4 million then Purchasing and Contracting Department listing the payout at over $72 million dollars?
• See attachment
2. Is it criminal and/or illegal for banks to issue three “bank checks” with the same number to three different people, on three different dates, and for three different amounts?
• LSBE Vendors Request for RICO Investigation due to Fraudulent Checks and other Information: https://www.scribd.com/doc/265964076/DeKalb-LSBE-Vendors-Call-for-RICO-Investigation
Video – DeKalb LSBE Vendors Call for RICO Investigation and Criminal Forensic Audit: https://youtu.be/N4TWHCm_-3E
and https://youtu.be/QW01JwaByJU
3. Is it criminal and/or illegal for DeKalb County to provide an auditor with copies of fraudulent checks for an audit report that states the numbers on the “bank checks” do not match?
• LSBE Vendors Request for RICO Investigation due to Fraudulent Checks and other Information: https://www.scribd.com/doc/265964076/DeKalb-LSBE-Vendors-Call-for-RICO-Investigation
4. Is it criminal and/or illegal to post the same purchase orders for multiple payments to drain money from taxpayers’ coffers and deny a criminal forensic audit to verify if this money was stolen?
• Multiple Payments of the same Purchase Order: https://www.scribd.com/doc/272708108/Commissioner-Sharon-Barnes-Sutton-and-RightThink-Multiple-Payments-Part-1-Summary-of-the-Ethics-Complaint
5. Is it criminal and/or illegal to destroy government documents that are needed to expose criminal activity yet, refuse to neither prosecute the individuals identified or stop the practice?
• Destruction of Government Documents: https://www.scribd.com/doc/288126677/Dekalb-County-Email-Secrets-Attachment-2
Review the following documents before you answer:
• Multiple Payments from the same Purchase Order: https://www.scribd.com/doc/272708108/Commissioner-Sharon-Barnes-Sutton-and-RightThink-Multiple-Payments-Part-1-Summary-of-the-Ethics-Complaint
• LSBE Vendors Request for RICO Investigation due to Fraudulent Checks and other Information: https://www.scribd.com/doc/265964076/DeKalb-LSBE-Vendors-Call-for-RICO-Investigation
• Destruction of Government Documents: https://www.scribd.com/doc/288126677/Dekalb-County-Email-Secrets-Attachment-2
• Debate between DA Robert James and former Solicitor General Sherry Boston on April 12, 2016: https://youtu.be/zBU5AQMYqqs
• Attachment of documents on contracts concerning $72 million dollars; Excel spreadsheet will be made available upon request at UnhappyTaxpayers@gmail.com.
If you agree that there is enough evidence in the documentation we are providing to demand a special prosecutor, forensic audit and expansion of the Public Integrity Unit, please send an email to UnhappyTaxpayers@gmail.com.
Example of an email:
Acting Attorney General John Horn and our local law enforcement have investigated crimes in DeKalb County indicting political officials, government employees, business owners, and police officers. We need to restore public trust, remove the “cloud of corruption” and reclaim our local government.
We, the undersigned, are concerned citizens, activists, organizations, and business owners, etc. who needs our local, state and federal law enforcement to move forward with an action plan that includes the following:
• Special Prosecutor with federal oversight
• Criminal forensic audit of Watershed, Purchasing and Contracting Dept., etc.
• Expansion of the Public Integrity Unit beyond the District Attorney’s office with federal oversight
Signature: _____________________________________________
_____________________________________________
Date: ______________________________________________
Dr. Curtis Thrasher, Jr. Request DA Robert James Investigate Complaint Against Stan Watson and Others Concerning Missing Money
Dr. Curtis Thrasher, Jr. in red – Photo from Youtube
PRESS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 2, 2016
FROM: Dr. Curtis Thrasher Jr., Founder/CEO
New Life New Hope Center
1711 Donald L. Hollowell,
Atlanta, Georgia 30318
CONTACT:
Phone: 404-284-9984
Dr. Curtis Thrasher, Jr. Request That DA Robert James Investigate Complaint Against Stan Watson and Others Concerning Missing Money
Dr. Curtis Thrasher Jr., Founder/CEO of New Life New Hope Center, hand delivered a letter/complaint to District Attorney Robert James requesting an investigation into alleged missing money involving membership fees, PEG fees, and/or franchise fees concerning the Comcast and DeKalb County division of Public Access Television.
Dr. Curtis Thrasher Jr. called a press conference on May 3, 2016 at 10:00 am to denounce the actions of former Commissioner Stan Watson and others at Comcast that allegedly cheated 30 producers out of approximately $15,000. Dr. Thrasher goes further into questioning missing money involving membership fees, PEG fees and/or franchise fees.
Dr. Curtis Thrasher, Jr. is the past president of the Atlanta Rainbow Push and is presently representing 30 aggrieved producers at Comcast Public Access Television. After appearing at the Board of Commissioner’s meeting and researching the issue, Dr. Thrasher makes the following alleged accusations:
• 30 Producers with Comcast allege that Stan Watson worked in collusion with a Comcast worker to cheat them out of money (approximately $15,000 dollars) paid to place their programs on Public Access Television.
• Researchers discovered over $5,000,000 (5 million dollars) in Comcast payments to DeKalb County, using a state law co-sponsored by Stan Watson that removed Public Access Television. Where did the money go?
• Stan Watson secured programming for his private show called “The Stan Watson Show” while “locking out” the 30 producers (majority black) at Comcast. Despite the producers paying the required membership fees, Watson secured access and protection for himself with the help of Comcast employee, Sue Ann Taylor with Zeel TV.
• The 30 producers were forced to work through Comcast employee Sue Ann Taylor from Canton, Georgia despite the history of her not paying her incorporation fees, questionable business behavior and being involved with two lawsuits (one which involves DeKalb County and Comcast).
Restore Public Trust Ethics Complaint – DeKalb County Board of Ethics
Restore Public Trust Ethics Complaint
Viola Davis
909 Rays Road
Stone Mountain, Ga. 30083
March 17, 2014
DeKalb County Board of Ethics
Clark Harrison Building
330 W. Ponce de Leon Avenue
Decatur, Georgia 30030
Dear DeKalb County Board of Ethics:
I, Viola Davis with Unhappy Taxpayer & Voter, submit this ethics complaint to restore public trust against Kelvin Walton, Director and Chief Procurement Officer of the Department of Purchasing and Contracting and Nina Hall, Former Assistant to CEO Burrell Ellis, and currently Project Manager with Watershed Department. I presented evidence during an executive meeting of Restore DeKalb on Friday, March 14, 2014 which included the complaints of two vendors, one complaint by a disabled veteran, and a federal complaint filed September of 2013 to the Recovery Accountability and Transparency Board.
I have received the full support of Restore DeKalb to submit a Restore Public Trust Ethics Complaint against Kelvin Walton and Nina Hall concerning the public corruption case related to purchasing and contracts within the Watershed Department. We agreed that the following actions need to be address to restore public trust in DeKalb County to include:
A. Demand Kelvin Walton and Nina Hall be reassigned to other departments until a full criminal investigation and forensic audit of the Watershed Department is completed.
B. Demand a forensic audit of the Watershed Department due to a long history of complaints of criminal activity and systematic charges of thievery.
C. Demand the GBI lead the investigation as an external neutral third party due to the fact that two-three independent Constitutional officers have made serious accusations against one another to include:
a. CEO Burrell Ellis charges against DA Robert James and Interim CEO Lee May
b. District Attorney Robert James charges under the RICO statue.
c. Interim CEO Lee May’s statement of a need for additional evidence before removing Kelvin Walton from the Purchasing and Contract Compliance Department.
D. Demand a federal investigation into DeKalb County’s Purchasing and Contracting and Contract Compliance departments and prosecution of people who are found to violate the local, state, and federal laws.
If we are to restore public trust, we request that the DeKalb County Ethics Board examine the following evidence submitted and submit an opinion and/or board action to the necessary elected officials and department heads (local and state level) to complete this Restore Public Trust Ethics Complaint:
1. Vendor 1 – Hopie Strickland with Strickland and Sons Construction
a. Unhappy Taxpayer & Voter filed a federal complaint with the Recovery Accountability and Transparency Board, September 2013 concerning a complaint by Hopie Strickland of bid rigging, kickbacks, and false documentation, etc. (See Documentation below)
b. Video titled, “DeKalb Corruption against LSBE Vendors” featuring Hopie Strickland.
2. Vendor 2 – Alessandro Salvo with GS Construction
a. Link to WSBTV story on Alessandro Salvo complaint
b. Link to Video of FBI investigation of Watershed Extortion case (Documentation provided on request of Ethics Board)
3. Private Citizen – Disabled Veteran complaint concerning tree removal demonstrates systematic problems and/or corruption that unfairly targets private citizens and lack of executive oversight.
4. DeKalb County Special Purpose Grand Jury Report 2012-2013 … Civil Case #12CV1000.
In the name of transparency, ethics, and accountability, we submit this ethics complaint to restore public trust.
Sincerely,
Viola Davis
Community Missionary