The DeKalb County Board of Ethics unanimously dismissed complaints Tuesday against Commissioners Kathie Gannon and Jeff Rader.
The board heard the results of preliminary investigations into the charges and then found there wasn’t probable cause to move forward with the cases.
Gannon had been accused of improperly using taxpayer money to hire an attorney to appeal a zoning decision. Her office also allegedly used government funds to buy gift cards.
The board’s investigator, attorney Robert Browning, said he found that Gannon’s spending was for county business. The complaint against Gannon came from Lithonia resident Monica Parrott, who didn’t attend Tuesday’s meeting and wasn’t reachable by Browning.
“I am pleased that the Board of Ethics saw through the false allegations and appreciate that each and every allegation was dismissed,” Gannon said. “It is clear that a person with access to government records — without an open records request — used that information to create a fraudulent complaint. It needs to be investigated.”
In the case against Rader, political consultant Warren Mosby said the commissioner had misspent public money and failed to fully disclose a potential conflict of interest related to his former employer, Jacobs Engineering.
Browning told the board his investigation showed Rader had obtained an ethics opinion in 2007 that said he should recuse himself from voting on matters related to Jacobs Engineering. Rader said his airfare costs for an economic development trip to Turkey, as well as unrelated expenses, were legitimate uses of taxpayer money.
“In spite of the hyperbole and the frankly virulent accusations that he (Mosby) makes, he presents no evidence in support of his claims,” Rader told the board.
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