LILBURN, Ga. (AP) - Two former officials in a suburban Atlanta city have been indicted on charges that they took more than $200,000 in bribes in a scheme that may have cost taxpayers even more.
The former assistant city manager and downtown development chief in Lilburn, as well as a real estate broker, were indicted last month on 16 counts of bribery that investigators said took place between 2014 and 2018.
According to City Manager Bill Johnsa, the three also used shell companies to buy land the city was interested in and then turned around and sold it to Lilburn at higher prices, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported.
Johnsa said former Assistant City Manager Doug Stacks was allowed to resign in August 2019 after he admitted taking a $10,000 bribe as part of a land development deal. Prosecutors say more than $65,000 in bribes were actually involved in that project.
Real estate broker David Clenton Kennedy is accused of repeatedly bribing Stacks and Norman Nash, who formerly headed Lilburn’s Downtown Development Authority. Stacks, Kennedy and Nash are accused of jointly buying property they later sold to Lilburn at least twice, profiting more than $200,000.
Attorney Matt Crosby, who represents Stacks, told the newspaper that he’s “thoroughly investigating the claims” and declined comment. Nash and Kennedy couldn’t be reached for comment.
Gwinnett County District Attorney Patsy Austin-Gatson said officials are investigating whether there was more wrongdoing.
“If it leads us anywhere else, we’ll follow it,” she said. “Bribery is against the law. We will pursue these cases whenever they rear their heads.”
Former District Attorney Danny Porter, who started the investigation, said the three could have reaped more than $500,000 by pocketing money at different times. Stacks took illegal commissions when the Downtown Development Authority sold property, Porter said. Lilburn also ended up paying more for land it bought and collected less for land it sold, Porter said.
“It was a big deal in terms of how much money was skimmed,” he said.
Johnsa said he alerted authorities in 2019 after noticing unusual terms in an agreement involving the Downtown Development Authority.
The alleged scheme echoes tactics Gwinnett County developers used more than a decade ago to inflate land prices for parks the county then purchased. The county paid more than $38 million to politically connected developers for parkland.
In 2014, former County Commissioner Kevin Kenerly was sentenced to 10 years of probation and paid $10,000 in fines after he was accused of taking $1 million in bribes. Former County Commission Chairman Charles Bannister resigned from office in 2010 to avoid a perjury charge following a grand jury inquiry.
Johnsa said he is asking for restitution for the city’s overpayments.
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