Outside investigators appointed by Interim DeKalb County CEO Lee May have produced a scathing and damning report that accuses DeKalb County’s government as being “rotten to the core.”
Among the many crimes allegedly being committed, the investigators list such illicit activities as widespread abuses of taxpayer money, allegations of bribery and theft of government property.
“The misconduct starts at the top and has infected nearly every department we have looked at,” wrote former Georgia Attorney General Mike Bowers and Richard Hyde, the two main investigators.
The investigators refuse to identify the perpetrators of these alleged illegal acts until such time as they complete their report in the near future.
However, at this time, Bowers and Hyde call their findings “stunning.”
As been previously reported, former DeKalb CEO Burrell Ellis was convicted of shaking down vendors working with the county for campaign contributions and is in prison. This past spring, former DeKalb commissioner Elaine Boyer was convicted of embezzling county taxpayer’s money in order to cover her own personal debt and was also sent to prison.
“The DeKalb County government is rotten to the core,” Bowers and Hyde wrote. “The misconduct starts at the top and has infected nearly every department we have looked at.”
May vehemently disagreed with the investigator’s assertion that DeKalb is corrupt to the core. In a statement, May wrote:
“I wholeheartedly disagree with the opinion that DeKalb County is rotten to the core. The overwhelming majority of DeKalb County employees are honest, decent, hard-working, and committed to public service.”
“We were aware of the underlying issues mentioned in Mr. Bowers’ letter. That is why we hired him to conduct a comprehensive review of county government operations to identify corruption, fraud, criminal activity, conflicts of interest, or abuse; with a report in 120 days,” May continued.
“The 120 days has come and gone, and it appears the only thing we have to show for it is a 2-page letter full of salacious – but vague – innuendo,” May said.
“I was informed by Mr. Bowers today that a detailed report will be issued in 3 weeks that will provide me with a road map to reduce our risk exposure to waste, fraud and abuse.”