A former DeKalb County official pleaded guilty Thursday to selling his vote to approve a nightclub in exchange for $3,500.
Jerry Clark, who served on the DeKalb Zoning Board of Appeals until May 2013, admitted to the bribery charge under a plea agreement with federal prosecutors. His sentencing is scheduled for April 30.
Clark, 42, met with the unnamed owner of the Tucker dance club before a zoning vote, and the business owner said Clark would be rewarded if the club was approved, said Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeffrey Davis in court.
After the November 2012 vote, Clark was paid $2,000 in cash and $1,500 was donated to a charity that he is involved in.
“It took only $3,500 to subvert the purpose of this DeKalb zoning ordinance, which was to regulate the operation of late-night nightclubs,” said Acting U.S. Attorney John Horn in a statement. “This case demonstrates how a corrupt public official can sell out the legitimate interests of the communities and citizens he serves, solely for his own profit.”
Clark’s attorney, Gary Spencer, said he has no other criminal record and has run a charity, the Jerry Clark Foundation, that mentors children and helps them avoid dropping out of school.
“This is a sad chapter of his life,” Spencer said. “He’s done a lot of fine work with the community. … We look forward to rehabbing his reputation.”
Clark’s plea deal requires him to cooperate with prosecutors as they continue investigating. Neither Spencer nor prosecutors revealed the identities of the nightclub and the business owner.
But a Channel 2 Action News investigation first questioned zoning decisions involving several nightclubs in 2012.
Clark and other members of the Zoning Board of Appeals voted 4-2 in November 2012 to overturn a decision by the DeKalb Planning Department that Lulu’s Entertainment couldn’t continue operating as a nightclub with a dance floor. A special land-use permit was required for a dance floor, and Lulu’s was only approved as a late-night business.
Clark told Channel 2 at the time he voted to “protect the integrity” of the zoning board.
“There are certain ordinances that are in place that made it make sense to do the right thing.” he said.
Now he’s facing the possibility of prison time.
The federal bribery charge Clark faces comes with a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison, but Spencer said he’s hoping for a sentence significantly less than that under the plea deal.
Clark was appointed to the Zoning Board of Appeals in 2009 by Interim DeKalb CEO Lee May, who was a commissioner at the time. May has said he was “disturbed and saddened” about the allegations.
May appointed Clark because he was active in the community with youth and parks issues, and May believed Clark would be a good advocate for residents on the board, said spokesman Burke Brennan.
Clark worked for the Atlanta Department of Parks and Recreation from 2011 to 2013 and for Def Jam Recordings from 2008 to 2010, according to his resume, provided to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution when requested from DeKalb County.
The county hired Clark in September as a special projects coordinator for the Department of Watershed Management, where he was responsible for outreach about water and sewer improvements, recycling and sanitation, Brennan said. The county fired Clark last month when he informed his superiors about the federal investigation.
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