Tuesday, September 21, 2010
Guv'ment Fulton County whistleblowers say they were wrongfully terminated, demoted after reporting fraud, waste
Posted by Thomas Wheatley @thomaswheatley on Tue, Sep 21, 2010 at 1:17 PM
The potential plaintiffs presented Williams in July with evidence that county funds had paid for lavish linens, Chiavari wedding chairs and other supplies for an employee’s private event-planning business, said their attorney, A. Lee Parks Jr.The payments were disguised with false invoices, purportedly to buy bedsheets, dormitory-style seating and toiletries for the county’s homeless shelters, Parks said.
Williams fired deputy Gwendolyn Warren and demoted investigative officer Maria Colon in July after they brought him their findings, Parks alleged in a Sept. 17 letter to Williams and the seven Fulton County commissioners. Two weeks later, Parks said, officials eliminated the county’s internal investigative agency, the Office of Professional Standards, which had employed Colon.
The county manager allegedly told Warren, “Certain commissioners want you gone today,” with no other explanation for her dismissal, Parks said. Colon chose a demotion and $45,000 pay cut rather than be fired, he said.
Walls has much more to add to the story, as does Pete Randall at Peach Pundit.
Williams said in a Monday statement that Warren's firing and Colon's demotion were unrelated to their allegations about waste and fraud. Those allegations, he said, are now under investigation by Fulton County police. Williams added that the police's "investigation is now at risk of being compromised due to the report being revealed publicly, thereby notifying those affected employees that they are currently under investigation."
Comments (3)
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How about do some more investigation, like who was hired by who and why and what their relationshp is...
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This sounds like the Fulton County equivalent of the charges against self-proclaimed "Bishop" Eddie Long of New Birth. Wronged employees/lovers stand up for themselves and bureaucracy can do nothing but dig in. Can I get an Amen?
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