The former head of Fulton County’s troubled information technology department has sued the county and a private contractor, claiming he was fired for blowing the whistle on corruption.
Maurice Ficklin lost his job last October after questioning millions of dollars in contracts with IT vendors. Two subsequent audits have confirmed many of Ficklin’s claims that the department mismanaged IT contracts.
In a lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court in Atlanta May 8, Ficklin claims he was fired in retaliation for raising concerns about the contracts. Among other things, it also claims racial and age discrimination.
In addition to Fulton County, the complaint names Consilium Consulting and its chief executive officer, Kwang Kim, as defendants, claiming they intentionally damaged Ficklin’s relationship with Fulton County.
Consilium provides software licensing and support, database administration, disaster recovery planning and other services to the county. Among other things, a report by Fulton’s internal auditor says the company overbilled the county $125,000.
Fulton County Manager Dick Anderson declined to comment on the lawsuit. But he noted the county is seeking an outside assessment of its IT department.
Michael Solis, an attorney for Consilium, said his client has done nothing wrong.
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