A company that lost a lucrative probation services contract with Gwinnett County two years ago is asking for another shot, citing concerns that officials who switched to a different provider may have been swayed by bribery or cronyism.
Professional Probation Services (PPS) provided misdemeanor probation services for a decade until the contract was awarded to another company in 2010. PPS sent the county a letter June 7 claiming Gwinnett County State Court judges improperly skirted the sealed-bid process when they switched to a company with connections to developer and former County Commission Chairman Wayne Mason.
The accusations come amid a backdrop of political scandal and corruption in Gwinnett that has resulted in departures of three sitting commissioners in less than two years.
Last month, former Commissioner Shirley Lasseter pleaded guilty in federal court to bribery. A special grand jury investigating county land deals in 2010 indicted then-Commissioner Kevin Kenerly on a still-pending bribery charge. The same probe prompted the resignation of then-Chairman Charles Bannister, who left to avoid a perjury charge.
Clay Cox, who is CEO of PPS, said Gwinnett County should terminate its current contract with Southeast Corrections.
“What is becoming more and more clear is that this was a time period of misbehavior," said Cox. "It makes good sense for the county to say we’re going to put this back out for bid and eliminate any possible appearances of impropriety."
The job of supervising misdemeanor probationers is worth about $150,000 a month, according to Cox. The probationers pay supervision fees to the company. PPS alleges that the judges awarded the job to Southeast Corrections because they had personal relationships with Mason.
Under state law, State Court Chief Judge Robert Mock – not county commissioners – has the authority to select a probation company, though commissioners have to approve the decision. Only Mock can initiate termination of the probation contract.
Mock did not return calls to his office. Mason and Southeast Corrections CEO Roy Harrell referred questions to their attorney, former governor Roy Barnes, who called the allegations “outrageous.” He said Mason is not an officer or director of Southeast Corrections. He said a Mason family trust owns some shares in the company.
“The allegations that were made against Wayne Mason were made by Chairman Bannister, who had to resign under threat of being indicted for perjury,” Barnes said. “I don’t consider that to be a very credible source.”
The county had already begun accepting bids when the judges reversed course and selected Southeast Corrections. In a 2010 letter to county commissioners, Mock said PPS had performed well, “but the free market process encourages competition and improvement.”
Mock cited Southeast’s “excellent and growing reputation.” And he said Gwinnett’s normal purchasing procedures were too rigid, lacked confidentiality and required input from county employees with no experience with probation services.
It was only in April that PPS decided to challenge the current contract, after Bannister filed a lawsuit against Gwinnett County, which is still pending. That suit alleges Sheriff Butch Conway and Conway's wife, State Court Judge Carla Brown, steered the contract to Southeast Corrections.
Bannister claimed Brown approached him about awarding the contract to Southeast Corrections. Bannister said he objected, though he voted for the contract and raised no objections during the commission meeting.
Bannister cited the alleged contract disagreement as evidence that Conway held a grudge against him – a grudge he claims led Conway to engineer his DUI arrest in June 2010. Bannister was exonerated after blood tests showed he had no alcohol in his system.
Conway has repeatedly denied the DUI arrest was politically motivated. He and Brown also have denied they tried to aid Mason.
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