DeKalb prosecutor’s meal spending questioned

In all, he repaid 35 charges from 2011 to 2015. His reimbursements included:

DeKalb District Attorney Robert James, who recently prosecuted a former county worker for misusing a government Visa card, himself repaid $1,915 for meals charged while on trips. But James said there was nothing improper about his spending, which he reimbursed out of an abundance of caution.

The ex-employee rejects James' explanation. Bob Lundsten, who pleaded guilty last month to a misdemeanor related to his spending of $310 in government money, is arguing that the district attorney, in essence, is doing the same thing he prosecuted Lundsten for.

"If he has done the same things that he may or may not accuse county officials of, how can he effectively prosecute them?" asked Lundsten, who was the aide to former DeKalb Commissioner Elaine Boyer before she pleaded guilty to federal fraud charges last year. "It raises huge questions about whether he is guilty of some of the same things that others are accused of."

Lundsten was originally charged with nine felonies but agreed to plead guilty to misdemeanor obstruction for his purchases of cat litter, gift shipping and other personal items. He was sentenced to a year on probation and 250 hours of community service.

James says there's a big difference between him and Lundsten. The prosecutor said his purchases were for official county business, and he voluntarily made the reimbursement to avoid doubts about expenses on his government-issued charge card.

“I decided to take the high road and go ahead and pay these expenditures back because I believe that, given everything that’s going on in the county right now, it was the right and appropriate thing to do versus saying, ‘I don’t have to, and I’m not going to,’” he said. “If I haven’t violated the law, I don’t believe that this undermines anything.”

A Sept. 30 report by special investigators cited more than $537,000 in questionable spending, mostly by county commissioners, on items like food, consultants and charitable contributions. James said commissioners' expenses were different from Lundsten's because they were connected to government business.

James wrote a check for $1,914.81 to DeKalb County on Oct. 20, an amount he calculated based on the cost of meals that exceeded the county’s $36 per day standard for food expenses while traveling.

He said it was appropriate to pay for business meals with his staff and other officials that cost more than the daily meal allotment. In addition, he said DeKalb’s charter makes clear that spending policies for Interim DeKalb CEO Lee May’s administration don’t apply to other constitutionally elected officers like the district attorney, sheriff and clerk of superior court.

James’ critics disagree. Sherry Boston, DeKalb’s solicitor-general who is running against James, said he may have committed a crime.

James twice received $108 advance checks for three days of meal expenses, then also charged meals to his county purchasing card, according to documents obtained by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution through an open records request to his office.

James said it’s permissible to charge the county for business meal costs that are greater than the amount of the advance.

But Boston said that amounts to “double dipping.”

“We’ve got an employee who’s essentially taking tax money out of the till,” Boston said. “That’s a crime and that’s what Mr. Lundsten was prosecuted for — using his purchasing card to pay for expenses that were not legitimate.”

Boston has reimbursed the county $175 for the cost of makeup before taking a portrait of herself that's used on her office's website and official materials. She said the expense was legitimate, but she made the repayment in an effort to remove concerns about her spending.

James turned over all of his office's purchasing card records to the GBI in July, saying at the time the state agency was the appropriate authority to review his spending. He refused to provide those records to special investigators hired by May, an action they said was "a clear violation of the Georgia Open Records Act."

The GBI hasn’t opened an investigation, and the agency requested that James conduct an internal audit and clarify whether there are problems with the spending records, said GBI spokesman Scott Dutton.

James’ office is in the process of providing the information requested by the GBI, said his spokesman, Erik Burton.

James defended his record on corruption cases, which includes the convictions of DeKalb CEO Burrell Ellis, DeKalb schools Superintendent Crawford Lewis and more than two dozen lower-ranking government employees and contractors.

He said his spending isn’t comparable to Lundsten’s.

“I haven’t made any personal expenditures on my purchasing card,” James said. “Mr. Lundsten was charged because none of these expenditures was even remotely business related.”

J. Tom Morgan, a defense lawyer and former DeKalb district attorney, said James’ expenses could prove damaging.

“If he ever makes an allegation against an official for overcharging on a purchasing card, it’s the pot calling the kettle black,” Morgan said. “The fact that he got caught and paid the money back — a lot of defendants would like to be in that same boat.”