ATLANTA (AP) - Federal prosecutors investigating corruption in Atlanta’s city government are seeking records related to city-issued credit cards for former Mayor Kasim Reed and several others.
A subpoena dated April 6 asks the city to produce credit card statements and other information for Reed; his brother Tracy Reed, a former city employee; former director of human services and political consultant Mitzi Bickers; and current Deputy Chief of Staff Katrina Taylor Parks, a holdover from Reed’s administration.
Another subpoena, dated April 3, focuses on records related to Taylor Parks, including her financial disclosures, travel authorizations and reimbursements and communications between her and several companies.
The prosecutors who requested the subpoenas are conducting an ongoing investigation into corruption at City Hall. Five people have been indicted in relation to a pay-to-play scheme for city contracts, including the city’s former chief procurement officer who admitted accepting bribes and was sentenced to prison.
Bickers was indicted earlier this month and accused of soliciting and accepting payments to help steer lucrative city contracts to two construction contractors and their companies.
Reed, who was term-limited, left office in January when Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms was inaugurated.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported March 28 that Reed had charged nearly $300,000 on his city card during his last three years as mayor. That included bills for five-star hotels, business class air travel, car service and more than $21,000 at restaurants, the newspaper reported. He also charged a political contribution and classes needed to maintain his law license.
Reed paid $12,000 to reimburse the city for some of the expenses within several days of the newspaper filing an open records request for his city credit card statements.
The records sought by the federal subpoena related to city-issued credit cards include: account statements, card applications, receipts, reimbursement records, training materials, signed user agreements and correspondence with cardholders about card use.
“Since the start of this investigation, my administration pledged full cooperation with our federal partners,” Reed told the Journal-Constitution in a statement issued by a spokesman. “My commitment has not changed and all documents requested in the April 6, 2018, subpoena will be provided. Many of these documents have been made available to members of the press previously and reflect legitimate expenses incurred as well as contributions made during the course of my service as Mayor of Atlanta.”
The April 6 subpoena also seeks all records related to or associated with Partners for Prosperity and Eloisa Klementich. Klementich is the president and CEO of Invest Atlanta, the city’s economic development agency. Partners for Prosperity is a fundraising arm of Invest Atlanta, according to the Journal-Constitution.
There was no immediate response to a message seeking comment submitted through Invest Atlanta’s website by The Associated Press on Wednesday.
The Journal-Constitution reported April 4 that Reed in December ordered $40,000 of his unclaimed salary to be donated to Partners for Prosperity. But the newspaper said Reed subsequently had the nonprofit return the money to cover part of an expensive economic development trip he and other city officials made to South Africa last year.
The two subpoenas say the documents sought must be turned over by May 8.
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