The following editorial is written by a retired Chief of Police and current staff writer for Law Enforcement Today
FULTON COUNTY, GA- Back in April, Law Enforcement Today reported on Fulton County (GA) District Attorney Paul Howard using a youth violence non-profit to pad his salary.
Now, the U.S. Justice Department has opened up a criminal investigation into Howard’s use of almost $200,000 in city funds, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution and Channel 2 Action News.
The investigation was discovered when a recent subpoena was received calling for the city to turn over documents to a federal grand jury in Atlanta on Oct. 6. The subpoena was delivered to Atlanta’s law department by the criminal division of the Justice Department’s public integrity section in Washington, D.C.
The subpoena is requesting all communications, requests and records between the city and the Fulton DA’s office between the dates of Jan. 1, 2014 and Dec. 31, 2017. Specifically, the subpoena is demanding documents related to checks from the city to the DA’s office—one for $125,000 dated Aug. 15, 2014 and the other for again $125,000 dated Sept. 30, 2016.
The Journal-Constitution had previously divulged that the checks the city sent to the DA’s office were deposited into a bank account for the non-profit that Howard runs as CEO, People Partnering for Progress. The non-profit is supposed to reduce youth violence.
Between the years 2014 and 2019, PPP directed checks to Howard which totaled $195,000.
Howard confirmed that his office was served with the subpoena requesting records that were related to supplemental compensation he received, as well as his office, from the city.
“The Atlanta City Council unanimously passed and the Atlanta mayor signed into law the budgeted payments made to me and this office,” Howard said. “These payments were completely lawful.”
Howard, who was whipped in his reelection bid in August, continued, saying:
“All records covered by the subpoena will be furnished as requested. I will fully cooperate with this investigation and am confident my cations do not violate any state or federal law.”
A spokesman for the mayor’s office, Michael Smith said:
“The authorities have the full cooperation of the city on this matter.”
The Journal-Constitution and Channel 2 disclosed the payments to state Attorney General Chris Carr, who then requested the Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI) to investigate the situation, which is ongoing.
There was an indication in the DOJ subpoena to the city that the GBI may also be assisting the public integrity section of the DOJ, pursuant to an Open Records Act request by Channel 2.
A spokesman for the GBI, Nelly Miles confirmed that agency is coordinating with the DOJ, however said a separate, state investigation is still underway.
A criminal defense attorney from Atlanta, not involved in the case, claims that the subpoenas should be considered a serious matter.
“The fact that it comes from public integrity in Washington, D.C., suggests a higher level of inquiry,” said the attorney, Bruce Morris.
“Anybody who has followed this would recognize that whatever it is, it doesn’t pass the smell test,” Morris said. “Whether it’s criminal or not has yet to be determined. But it stinks.”
Howard became “famous” if you will when he decided to charge Atlanta police officers in the shooting death of Rayshard Brooks back in June.
Two officers, Garrett Rolfe and Devin Brosnan were charged by Howard, with Rolfe being charged with murder and aggravated assault.
Brooks had acquired a Taser during a struggle with the officers after he had been passed out drunk in a Wendy’s drive-thru. As he turned to shoot it at Rolfe, he shot Brooks, killing him.
Howard did not wait for the GBI to finish its investigation before charging the officers, a move which outraged police officers nationwide, as well as many others.
It was a clear case of Howard buying into the mob mentality in a post-George Floyd world, likely influenced in part by a desire to head off any further civil unrest in the Atlanta area and probably trying to act like “tough-on-crime” DA.
The Journal-Constitution said that U.S. Attorney BJay Pak had recused the Atlanta office from the investigation of Howard because it is defending the Justice Department in pending litigation filed by the Fulton County DA’s office, a spokesman said.
Howard has been Fulton County’s DA since 1997, and in fact told the city in 2014 he wasn’t being paid enough. Well, that seems to be what you call a smoking gun, indicating Howard was looking to make more money.
Does that mean he decided to pad his wallet via the non-profit? Nobody knows. But, if it walks like a duck, and quacks like a duck…well, you know the rest.
In 2014, Howard wrote a letter to then-Mayor Kasim Reed, complaining that he wasn’t making the same money as some other Das across the state; he wanted just over an $81,259 increase to his salary to increase his compensation to $239,500 a year.
The problem? Well, Georgia state law, which you might think a DA might know something about, said that only counties—not cities—can supplement a DA’s state-paid salary.
However, Howard had a ready excuse when questioned about it by the Journal-Constitution and Channel 2. He had asked one of his former appellate attorneys if the city could supplement his salary, to which she replied there didn’t appear to be a law prohibiting it.
While Howard never received the supplement, he did get the two checks in the amount of $125,000 paid to the DA’s office.
Upon receiving the first payment, Howard thanked Reed via a thank you letter, and indicated the funds would be used to enhance the duties of the DA’s community prosecution program, a program designed to help reduce crime and improve the quality of life within the city.
He also, and this is key, said the money would “provide additional compensation to the community prosecution staff and the district attorney.”
So, how did the non-profit make out? As it turns out, not all that well. Eighty percent of the city funds found their way into Paul Howard’s pockets.
In 2014, he was paid $30,000 of the city fund through his nonprofit, then $50,000 in 2015, $20,000 in 2016, $70,000 in 2017, $20,000 in 2018, and $5,000 in 2019, as reported in nonprofit records and state documents.
In the Justice Department subpoena, they asked for all communications and records related to the nonprofit. It also seeks all documents between the city and Howard related to the supplemental funding of the DA’s office.
In addition, the request for city of Atlanta records includes those from the mayor’s office and the city council. It is also requesting relevant records from Katrina Taylor Parks, who worked for the city for around 20 years, and who pleaded guilty to corruption charges; former police chiefs Erika Shields and George Turner; former city council members C.T. Martin and Ceasar Mitchell; and Tracy Woodard, a former Atlanta Police Department business manager.
One thing we are fairly certain of…police far and wide in the US will be cheering if Howard gets exactly what is coming to him.
Want to make sure you never miss a story from Law Enforcement Today? With so much “stuff” happening in the world on social media, it’s easy for things to get lost.
Make sure you click “following” and then click “see first” so you don’t miss a thing! (See image below.) Thanks for being a part of the LET family!
