Perdue’s Ethics Commission appointment derailed

A Savannah lawyer gave up his appointment to the state Ethics Commission on Tuesday over a 12-year-old court verdict in which a jury found that he and his firm helped a Jacksonville real estate broker pocket millions from a group of investors.

The lawyer, Joseph “Rusty” Ross, said he and his firm handled the transaction properly but were penalized for the actions of an agent who took the money.

Perdue appointed Ross to the panel that investigates and rules on ethics complaints against politicians on Friday. Ross, a frequent Republican political contributor, had yet to be formally sworn onto the commission.

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution questioned Perdue officials and Ross about the court case Tuesday. Perdue officials said they didn’t know about it before the appointment was made. On Tuesday Perdue staffers questioned Ross about it and Ross decided to relinquish the post.

Ross and his former law firm were told by a federal jury in 1996 to pay $8.14 million for helping a Jacksonville real estate broker make millions from a group of German investors, according to news reports.

The Jacksonville jury determined that Ross and the firm “aided and abetted” the broker in violating the investors’ trust.

In an interview Tuesday, Ross said he represented a broker who was buying land for the European investors.

“We closed the transactions properly and turned the money over to the agent and apparently the agent never gave the money to their client,” he said. “We did what we were supposed to do … we ended up paying the price for it.”

Ross said he didn’t recall whether he mentioned the lawsuit to Perdue officials checking his background before Friday’s Ethics Commission appointment.

However, he said the incident wouldn’t have precluded him from being a fair judge of ethics complaints.

“It’s a thing that happened in the past. I’m not proud of it,” he said. “Everybody can be a back-seat driver and say we should have done differently, but I’ve been a good, ethical lawyer for over 25 years. Unfortunately, lawyers do get sued sometimes.”

Over the past six years, Ross has contributed more than $3,000 to the campaigns of Senate President Pro Tem Eric Johnson (R-Savannah) and at least $1,250 to Perdue, according to Ethics Commission and Secretary of State filings. He has contributed more than $9,000 to Republican candidates and causes during that period.

Such donations are not unusual for commission members. At least three of the five current members have contributed to Perdue campaigns, for instance.

Perdue spokesman Bert Brantley said the state did a background check on Ross, but didn’t find the lawsuit.

“As political as the Ethics Commission can get, the commission needs to be able to make decisions and be above controversy and accusations,” Brantley said.

Bill Bozarth, executive director of the ethics watchdog group Common Cause Georgia, said vetting is important for posts on state boards and commissions.

“In a case like this one, I’m sure they wish they had checked closer,” Bozarth said. “Given the nature of the 1996 federal case, it would be hard for Mr. Ross to serve without controversy.”