Ex-MARTA chief says pending charges won’t hinder him in new job

Clayton County’s new financial adviser said his pending public indecency charges will not get in the way of what he was hired to do: make money for Clayton County.

On Tuesday, the Clayton County Commission hired Edmund J. Wall, a former MARTA board member charged with having sex in a bathroom at Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport.

According to Clayton County Magistrate Court records, police said they found Wall having oral sex with another man in the restroom outside an airport restaurant on March 13, 2007. The police also allege that Wall was masturbating while watching an officer urinate.

Police charged Wall, then 43, with one count of public indecency.

The next day, Wall pleaded not guilty and the case was sent to the county solicitor general.

No action has been taken on the case since, and it is pending. Solicitor General Leslie Miller Terry did not return three calls with messages left on Wednesday.

Wall declined to discuss the specifics of the case and said he doesn’t know why it has been delayed.

“Will I get a chance to clear my name? The folks who love me, friends and family, they know Ed Wall and my character,” Wall said Wednesday. “I had hoped after the media frenzy almost two years ago that I was done with all that. Here it is back again.”

Clayton County Commission Chairman Eldrin Bell said he hired Wall because of his financial experience.

“Ed has an outstanding track record on getting us the best prices,” Bell said Wednesday.

“My primary concern is to protect Clayton County financially with the best advice I can get. I’m looking at Ed Wall the financial adviser, not Ed Wall the accused citizen.”

Bell also touted Wall’s success when he was chairman of the DeKalb County pension board, which Bell called the most successful pension board in the state.

Wall has been advising Georgia cities, counties and school systems on investments since 1984. He has advised Clayton County on and off since 1988.

Tuesday, the Clayton commission made that relationship official, voting 3-2 to hire Wall. Commissioners Wole Ralph and Sonna Singleton voted against it.

The contract provides a 1 percent fee for every dollar he invests, along with $200 an hour.

Wall will be tasked with underwriting bonds for $68 million in SPLOST funds, managing the county’s pension plan, negotiating bonds for a hospital project and the expansion of Tara Field, Bell said.

Although Wall will recommend how the county invests its money, the commission will have final say on all financial decisions, county attorney Michael Smith said.

Bell stressed that Clayton’s finances are stable: it was one of the only counties in metro Atlanta not to raise property taxes or slash services or employees. However, the shaky economy and unstable housing market threaten the county’s financial standing, Bell said.

“We’re financially sound, in part because of Wall’s efforts in getting us good rates. I want to stay there,” Bell said. “He knows Clayton County’s financial situation and has sources on Wall Street.”