Atlanta’s Inspector Common being sued by contractor
Atlanta’s Inspector Common continues to draw ire as she vows to weed out fraud, waste and corruption. The IG is now being sued by a metropolis contractor whose identify surfaced throughout a yearlong investigation. Bernie Tokarz’ lawyer says the Inspector Common has overstepped her boundaries and isn’t following the regulation.
ATLANTA – Atlanta’s inspector basic is being sued by a metropolis contractor whose identify surfaced throughout a year-long investigation by her workplace.
The seller’s lawyer says Inspector Common Shannon Manigault has overstepped her boundaries and isn’t following the regulation whereas attempting to research attainable monetary connections between distributors and Atlanta officers.
Lawyer Stephen Katz has filed an Open Data Act lawsuit towards Manigault as a result of he believes she has exceeded her authority.
“I see her function as hunting down corruption, however she should act inside the regulation herself,” Katz informed FOX 5’s Aungelique Proctor.
Katz represents Bernie Tokarz, a safety contractor and lobbyist who additionally volunteered because the Finance Chair for Atlanta’s Put up 1 At Massive Council particular person Michael Julian Bond.
The Workplace of the Inspector Common launched a report saying Tokarz must be banned from doing enterprise with town for alleged unethical habits, however Katz is pushing again.
“She talks about alleged, illegal actions in lobbying, however lobbying is not even one thing that is inside her bailiwick, that is the state ethics director,” he stated. “That is half and parcel of what is been occurring with this inspector basic. She retains exceeding her authority on quite a few issues.”
SEE MORE: Atlanta metropolis lawyer fires again at allegations in inspector basic report
Katz says his shopper has a $3 million contract with town of Atlanta to supply safety at metropolis parks and Grady Memorial Hospital.
He claims the Workplace of the Inspector Common has refused to conform along with his requests for a number of paperwork and that Manigault crossed many traces throughout her investigation into Tokarz.
“She went and obtained his banking data and that of a number of uninvolved events and did not notify anyone,” Katz claimed. “She does not even have subpoena energy to get that banking data.”
Katz says the Atlanta Metropolis Council appears to be snubbing the IG’s report.
“Her report has largely been ignored and discarded by town as a result of they renewed Mr. Tokarz’s contract. The state ethics commissioner summarily dismissed her ethics criticism, and we have got a load of questions concerning the inspector basic,” he stated,
The council handed the renewal of Tokarz’s contract unanimously, with Bond abstaining as a result of he didn’t need there to be the looks of a battle of curiosity.
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Atlanta’s Inspector Common has dropped a brand new report accusing town of favoritism in a bid for its 311 system. The mayor’s workplace has slammed that report as “wholly unprofessional” as some metropolis officers need limits to placed on the Inspector Common’s Workplace.
The lawsuit comes lower than per week after Manigault launched a report alleging that officers confirmed favoritism throughout the bidding course of for a 311 software program system.
She claimed that the seller used its connections to Mayor Andre Dickens’ transition workforce to realize entry to metropolis officers.
“We discovered that there have been communications that had occurred upfront of a request for proposal,” Shannon Manigault, Atlanta’s Inspector Common, informed FOX 5.
Town wrote a letter responding to the report, calling it “faulty” and criticizing the OIG’s investigative strategies as “wholly unprofessional and inappropriate.”
After town’s response, the Workplace of the Inspector Common launched a five-page letter saying town’s response was “uncivil” and filled with “advert hominem assaults and accusations of political bias” to attempt to forged doubt on its findings.
“It’s a matter of public file that OIG and the Metropolis have had variations of opinion associated to the functioning of this workplace,” the letter learn partially. “Whereas dialogue about operations and oversight for a brand new authorities entity can finally assist profit taxpayers, the general public just isn’t served by unsupported statements from the Metropolis in response to an OIG investigation performed independently, scrupulously, and in good religion.”
