Tuesday, October 6, 2009
News Lamar Willis' latest headache
Posted by Scott Henry @ScottTheHenry on Tue, Oct 6, 2009 at 10:51 PM
Last Monday, the AJC reported that Atlanta Councilman H. Lamar Willis owed the state about $44,000 in back taxes and fines.
Today, Secretary of State Karen Handel sent out a notice alerting the press that Willis has been hit with a $25,000 fine by a Fulton Superior Court judge for misrepresenting his scholarship foundation as a nonprofit charity when it was not.
I'm guessing none of this is going to help Willis get reelected next month.
You may recall that, two years ago, an AJC investigation indicated a number of financial improprieties on Willis' part, many of them centered on his foundation. If the article's allegations were correct, Council observers mused at the time, then Willis could end up being charged with tax fraud by the feds.
Well, the feds have remained silent, but not so the state. Last year, both Handel's office and Attorney General Thurbert Baker filed suit, charging that "Willis never obtained IRS approval for his foundation as a charitable organization." The $25,000 fine, imposed by Fulton Chief Judge Doris Downs last Wednesday, stems from that action.
Also today came a copy of a letter sent to both Handel's office and the Atlanta municipal clerk's office asking that they review whether Willis should be dropped from the Nov. 3 ballot for potentially having filed an inaccurate affidavit.
I don't know if Willis' challenger is behind the letter and, frankly, it shouldn't matter. The only question is, did he violate election law? Every seeker of municipal office in Georgia must swear that he isn't behind on his taxes. To be honest, it's somewhat more complicated than that; here's the actual language:
I am not a defaulter for any federal, state, county, municipal, or school system taxes required of such officeholder or candidate if such person has been finally adjudicated by a court of competent jurisdiction to owe those taxes, but such ineligibility may be removed at any time by full payment thereof, or by making payments to the tax authority pursuant to a payment plan, or under such other conditions as the General Assembly may provide by general law…
What's all that mean? Well, where Willis is concerned, it could mean he's OK to run if he's currently subject to an authorized payment plan. Last week's AJC story indicates that Willis has had his wages garnished for a year now, which probably meets that qualification.
I wouldn't be surprised if we hear something from Handel's office again tomorrow.
Comments (4)
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Scott- Excellent reporting. I believe Willis is still in default for the $44,000. According to the AJC article, the garnishment against him (and his wife) was only for $11,000 owed. It doesn't look like there's any payment plan for the larger amount. All of this is giving me a headache. There is just too much drama with this guy. Surely his opponent can do a better job.
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Good Story however there is also the issue of the outstanding $1,600 in state sales tax that was not paid on a car purchased in 2005. That amount was not included in the garnishments and as indicated by the AJC, that amount has not been paid as of yet. There is most certainly grounds for an investigation from Karen Handel's Office to see if he is entitled to be on the ballot and it seems as though the City Clerk's Office is not willing to look into removing Mr. Willis from the ballot. When are we going to see some ethics and accountability in City Hall. Plus everyone is forgetting the pending ethics cases against Mr. Willis as well. The may just have to be solved in the court of public opinion.
What does anyone know of Lamar's opponent? The fearless wannabes of Atlanta all rushed in to non-incumbent races, suggesting that even an incumbent as tainted as good ol' Lamar scared them off. Heck, if our own dear old Liz Coyle figured she couldn't beat the self-dealing charity boy and tax cheat, obliging her to settle for the boring little D6 seat, do you give much for the actual no-name candidate's chances?
If anyone actually read the judge's ruling in the State's case against Willis they would see that there was no evidence that any of the money was misused, there was simply an error in the filing of the appropriate paperwork. Copies of checks totaling over $100K in scholarships were documented as well as several other programs for children. As for his opposition-I haven't heard anything postive about them at all. If they are silent during a campaign how can we expect them to voice the concerns of the public as a member of council. The facts are the facts...Willis is one of the best council members we have!
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