Even those who dispute investigators' characterization that DeKalb County government is "rotten to the core" question whether the inquiry should wind down within three weeks as requested by Interim DeKalb CEO Lee May.
May commissioned outside investigators in March to root out corruption in government, but he wrote in a letter Thursday that he was concerned about its vague allegations of wrongdoing and “generalized personal attacks on the entire county workforce.”
“This has blown up in his face,” said community activist Faye Coffield, who opposed the investigation because it lacked subpoena power. “It’s a mess, a mess he created.”
In a letter delivered Wednesday to May, special investigators Mike Bowers and Richard Hyde said they found “stunning” examples of reckless behavior within the government, with indications of bribery, cover-ups and misspending of taxpayer dollars on everything from liquor to a Christmas tree.
The investigators will reveal details of their findings in their final report.
“The misconduct starts at the top and has infected nearly every department we have looked at,” they wrote.
Citing concerns about the "tone and content" of the inquiry, May called for the investigation to be completed by Aug. 26. Any work done after that date won't be funded, May wrote.
“The statement (from Bowers and Hyde) is pretty strong and somewhat inaccurate, because we’ve worked with a lot of whistle blowers who have been very helpful,” said Viola Davis, who runs the Unhappy Taxpayer and Voter group. “But I don’t think Lee May thought this through. His intentions may have been good but his actions are tainting the whole process. You hired these people and now you want to shut them down? Makes you wonder.”
Whatever the investigators have found should be turned over to law enforcement authorities, said Davis, who has pushed for a federal probe into alleged corruption within the county’s government.
Bowers and Hyde said they will identify individuals who may be guilty of crimes or misconduct in their final report Bowers, a former Georgia attorney general, said he had been led to believe they had until Oct. 6 to complete that report.
DeKalb Commissioner Sharon Barnes Sutton said she was troubled by the lack of specifics from Bowers and Hyde.
“I would expect an investigator to come back with reports and evidence and not allegations, so this is just really strange,” Sutton said. “I never saw the purpose in his investigation or the reason. We have all kinds of law enforcement looking into this. We have all the things in place to get everything we want and everything we need.”
Regardless of May’s motives, suspicion is sure to follow his move to quash the investigation, said Gil Turman, founder of the South DeKalb Neighborhood Coalition.
“He needs to come out and explain why he’s stopping something he ordered,” said Turman, a former DeKalb school principal. “It makes you think that Bowers is on to something and they’re afraid of what his report is going to say.”
Lifelong DeKalb resident Kevin Levitas, a former state legislator, said Bowers is not prone to hyperbole.
“He’s very credible, very thorough,” said Levitas, a supporter of LaVista Hills cityhood, which would cut into the county’s power if it’s approved by voters in a November referendum.
As for May, “be careful what you ask for,” said Levitas, “because you just might get it.”
Staff writer Mark Niesse contributed to this article.
About the Author
