Ethics complaint filed against Ellis

A DeKalb County resident has filed a complaint against suspended CEO Burrell Ellis with the county’s powerful ethics board.

The complaint, filed late Tuesday, is based on the criminal indictment against Ellis. Ellis faces 14 felony counts for allegedly shaking down county vendors for campaign cash and punishing those who did not give.

Ellis is scheduled to go to trial in September on those charges. He would be removed from office if found guilty.

The ethics board could also remove Ellis from office if it finds egregious violations of the county’s ethics code during its investigation. The newly invigorated board has that power, as well as the authority to fire nearly every county worker, but has never exercised it.

For more information, please visit www.myAJC.com.

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