Indicted Snellville Mayor Tom Witts has voluntarily suspended himself from office, officials said during a Monday night meeting.
Witts was not present for the city council meeting, the first since he was indicted on dozens of felony charges that range from tax evasion to misuse of campaign funds. But Snellville City Attorney Tony Powell read a statement on his behalf.
In the statement, Witts wrote that he was voluntarily suspending himself so he could focus on defending his case. He maintained his innocence.
“I am sorry I am unable to be with you tonight, but I will look forward to being with you again as soon as I can deal with the charges that have been asserted against me,” the statement said.
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Witts was indicted Sept. 7, more than four years after District Attorney Danny Porter began investigating him. The indictment's 66 counts include allegations of tax evasion, lying about candidacy documents about owing taxes, misusing campaign funds and his company improperly doing business with the city.
Sixty-five of the charges are felonies. The only misdemeanor involves Witts allegedly using 2015 campaign money to pay for a subscription to a pornography website.
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