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
DeKalb NAACP Candidate Forum for Commission District 4 & 6
DeKalb NAACP Candidate Forum for Commission District 4 & 6
Recorded by Viola Davis
DeKalb NAACP hosted a forum on May 21, 2016 at 3015 South Rainbow Drive, Decatur, Georgia from 10 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. The candidates for CEO, District Attorney, Tax Commissioner, Sheriff, District 4 Commissioner and District 6 Commissioners that attended include:
Chief Executive Officer:
Joe Bembry
Connie Stokes
Michael Thurmond
District Attorney:
Sherry Boston
Tax Commissioner:
Irvin J. Johnson
Susannah Scott
Sheriff:
Geraldine Champion
Ted Golden
Kyle Jones
Michael Williams
District 4 Commissioner:
Steve Bradshaw
Lance Hammonds
District 6 Commissioner:
Kathie Gannon (Incumbent)
The candidates that did not attend include:
District Attorney:
Robert James (Incumbent)
Tax Commissioner:
Stan Watson
Sheriff:
Jeffrey Mann (Incumbent)
Harold Dennis
District 4 Commissioner:
Sharon Barnes Sutton (Incumbent)
Willie Willis
District 6 Commissioner:
Warren Mosby
I want to go on record as endorsing Lance Hammonds for County Commissioner for District 4. In my years (over 15 years) of working as a government watchdog and with statewide government watchdogs, I have found Lance Hammonds to be trustworthy, ethical, community-oriented, a change agent and an independent spirit. If you want to see honest people in government, join me in supporting Lance Hammonds for the 4th District Commissioner.
Viola Davis – Co-Founder of Unhappy Taxpayer & Voter – agreed to write the endorsement for voters that support Lance Hammonds.
Joel Edwards with Restore DeKalb agreed to speak for supporters of Steve Bradshaw.
We have two excellent candidates that will serve Commission District 4 and help restore public trust. Our community deserve representation with honesty, ethics, integrity and respect for taxpayers and voters.
Update of New Video: Newly formed Political Action Committee (PAC) endorsing candidates in DeKalb County…
CONTACT:
For more information, comments and/or questions: Dr. Curtis Thrasher Phone: 404-284-9984 or Viola Davis Phone: 770-256-0034; View the reasons to elect anybody but Sharon Barnes Sutton and Stan Watson at http://anybodybut.org; http://anybodybut.org , (reasons, articles and video) Email: anybodybutstan@gmail.com or anybodybutsharon@gmail.com
Dr. Curtis Thrasher leads a coalition of citizens to move DeKalb County in a new direction with new leadership. Dr. Thrasher has identified two elected officials that need to be removed from office in order for DeKalb County to recover from the cloud of corruption and restore public trust. We have submitted documents to the Board of Commissioners that show missing money from franchise fee and peg fees with Public Access Television and over $70 million dollars missing from Public Works/Watershed. Ask your Commissioners for copies under the Open Records Request and demand an audit of these departments. Sharon Barnes Sutton and Stan Watson were on the Public Works Committee 5 of the 7 years the committee existed. Jeff Rader and Kathie Gannon were on the committee 3 of the 7 years. Lee May and Elaine Boyer were on the committee 2 of the 7 years. Nancy Jester was on the committee less than 1 of the 7 years.
TAXPAYER & VOTER ARE THE “EMPLOYERS”
Our Vote – Hire and Fire Elected Officials
Our Tax Money – Pay Elected Officials Salaries and provide Money for Budgets
These two facts define us as “Employers” of the elected officials
NEW LEADERSHIP, NEW VISION, NEW DIRECTION
DeKalb County needs to elect new leadership with the courage to move our county in a new direction. DeKalb County needs a new vision.
FREDERICK DOUGLASS QUOTES:
Frederick Douglass/Quotes If there is no struggle, there is no progress.
Power concedes nothing without a demand. It never did and it never will.
It is easier to build strong children than to repair broken men.
Restore DeKalb request Special Prosecutor and Expansion of Public Integrity Unit
I, Viola Davis, with Unhappy Taxpayer & Voter and Restore DeKalb, submit a new request and report detailing and summarizing an ethics complaint (alleged criminal activity, wrongdoing and malfeasance) against Sharon Barnes Sutton and others within DeKalb County government to the new DeKalb Board of Ethics (2016). I had and continue to have the support of Restore DeKalb with Joel Edwards and a group of citizens striving to “restore” transparency, ethics and accountability in our local and state government.
We request an advisory opinion because new evidence, documentation and witnesses have come forth to prove the code of ethics and state law were violated. The additional information will prove that the actions of a select group of elected officials and top administrators undermined the law to the point that the ethics case against Commissioner Sharon Barnes Sutton would need to be forwarded to:
1. A Special Prosecutor with the District Attorney and/or Solicitor General’s office. The District Attorney Robert James has a conflict of interest with Commissioner Sharon Barnes Sutton due to his close relationship with Warren Mosby, the prior boyfriend of Barnes Sutton and James’ campaign consultant.
2. An expansion of the Public Integrity Unit to include a cross section of law enforcement such as the local police department under Dr. Cedric Alexander with the FBI/GBI as oversight agents. The Public Integrity Unit investigates allegations of wrongdoing by elected officials and appointed officials.
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. 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.
DeKalb County Purchase Card (P-Card) Audit
DeKalb County P-Card Audit
Mark Niesse and Johnny Edwards wrote an article titled, “Audit: Spending reports sloppy” on October 24, 2014 in the AJC newspaper. The front page article was an investigative piece, highlighting the results of a ten year audit of the Board of Commissioners, their office staff and the clerk’s office purchase card usage.
DeKalb County has been lax in its oversight of spending by elected commissioners, and some officials frequently paid for items on their government debit cards without submitting required receipts, according to an audit released Thursday.
The audit shows the seven commissioners used taxpayer funds to pay for everything from steakhouse dinners to speeding tickets…
The DeKalb commission submitted receipts for just 57% of the transactions. However, the Purchase Card (P-card) spending by commissioners includes (according to the AJC):
1. Elaine Boyer: $103,665 with 40 percent supported by receipts
Review the actual audit at: https://www.scribd.com/doc/244408986/DeKalb-County-P-Card-Audit-Commissioner-Elaine-Boyer
2. Jeff Rader: $34,606 with 77 percent supported by receipts
Review the actual audit at: https://www.scribd.com/doc/244409024/DeKalb-County-P-Card-Audit-Commissioner-Jeff-Rader
3. Larry Johnson: $78,757, with 97 percent supported by receipts
Review the actual audit at: https://www.scribd.com/doc/244409015/DeKalb-County-P-Card-Audit-Commissioner-Larry-Johnson
4. Sharon Barnes Sutton: $108,720, with 25 percent supported by receipts
Review the actual audit at: https://www.scribd.com/doc/244410962/DeKalb-County-P-Card-Audit-Commissioner-Sharon-Barnes-Sutton
5. Lee May: $57,283, with 39 percent supported by receipts
Review the actual audit at: https://www.scribd.com/doc/244408974/DeKalb-County-P-Card-Audit-Commissioner-Lee-May
6. Kathie Gannon: $26,327, with 97 percent supported by receipts
Review the actual audit at: https://www.scribd.com/doc/244409040/DeKalb-County-P-Card-Audit-Commissioner-Kathie-Gannon
7. Stan Watson: $57,937, with 78 percent supported by receipts
Review the actual audit at: https://www.scribd.com/doc/244408999/DeKalb-County-P-Card-Audit-Commissioner-Stan-Watson
The DeKalb County Purchase Card (P-Card) audit on the Central Office Administration and Clerks:
https://www.scribd.com/doc/244408960/DeKalb-County-P-Card-Audit-Central-Office-and-Clerks
For the entire article, view the link : http://www.ajc.com/news/news/local-govt-politics/report-finds-loose-spending-by-dekalb-officials/nhqw7/
NOTE: Stay tuned for our take on this so-called audit. We have not done a complete review as of this date. However, a preliminary perusal of this report leave us with a lot of questions to be asked and answered.