Boy!
This sounds like Detroit and D.C., but hey, what do I know?
A criminal information unsealed Wednesday morning accused Taylor-Parks of accepting bribes in 2013 from an unidentified city vendor.
“At this point, we really don’t want to talk about the merits of the case,” said her attorney, Jay Strongwater. “She’s devastated by the news.”
The accusations
Prosecutors claim the vendor wrote a $2,000 check to a company Taylor-Parks’ owned and another $2,000 check directly to Parks’ husband, DeAnthony Parks. In exchange, that vendor got more than $80,000 in contract work from the city.
Channel 2 Action News confirmed the dates and amounts the feds highlighted coincide with city payments to a company called Bridgenet for a Piedmont Park Wi-Fi project.
Bridgenet’s owner, Paul Marshall, recently cut a plea deal with the feds in an unrelated fraud case in return for his cooperation in other investigations.
First appearance postponed
Taylor-Parks was scheduled to make a first appearance before a federal magistrate Wednesday afternoon. The appearance was postponed after Strongwater told the judge that she is in a hospital for an undisclosed medical condition.
“Hopefully we can get Katrina back on her feet, and at that time we’ll be in court for this initial appearance and the bond,” Strongwater said.
The complaint also states that Taylor-Parks signed financial disclosures with the city “falsely attesting that she was not self-employed or employed by any business or entity other than the city.”
In April, federal prosecutors subpoenaed records from City Hall related to Taylor-Parks and DeAnthony Parks, who is also a city of Atlanta employee.
The subpoena for Taylor-Parks sought personnel records, financial disclosure and ethics statements and requests for permission by Taylor-Parks to seek outside employment.
Prosecutors demanded her travel records and reimbursements from 2011 to 2017, as well as her requests and approvals for leave.
What does it mean for the larger investigation?
Former federal prosecutor Caren Morrison told Channel 2’s Aaron Diamant that based on her read of the charging document, she expects Taylor-Parks will eventually plead guilty.
She also believes the case may go higher than Taylor-Parks.
“If this is somebody who worked closely with the mayor, there’s no way she could do these kinds of activities without the mayor at least having some idea of what was going on,” Morrison said.
Taylor-Parks is just the latest casualty of the feds' sweeping corruption probe of city hall under Reed that’s already lead to four guilty pleas and four prison sentences.
Strongwater wouldn’t say if his client is cooperating with prosecutors and said he had no idea if Reed knew about the alleged bribes.
Current mayor responds
Taylor-Parks served as Reed’s deputy chief of staff for eight years -- a position she held under Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms until Taylor-Parks recent resignation.
In a statement to Channel 2 Action News, Bottoms said she was saddened by the charge against Taylor-Parks.
“These unfortunate developments stand in stark contrast to her reputation as an effective and experienced City Hall executive,” the statement said. “Our administration has been steadfast in its commitment to create extraordinary and innovative new transparency safeguards."
Bottoms said her administration has been assisting federal investigators.
- May 14, 2018: Ex-Mayor Kasim Reed withheld subpoena aimed at airport in Atlanta bribery probe
- April 5, 2018: Feds indict former Atlanta official Mitzi Bickers in bribery probe
- Feb. 23, 2017: Whistleblower: Feds asked about central figure in bribery case and top ATL official
- Feb. 16, 2017: 2nd businessman pleads guilty in bribery case
- Feb. 09, 2017: City releases 1.4M pages of documents related to City Hall bribery case
- Feb. 08, 2017: Second contractor faces criminal charge in Atlanta City Hall bribery scandal
- Feb. 02, 2017: Wife says CEO who paid bribes won Atlanta contracts by fraud
- Jan. 26, 2017: Atlanta mayor distances himself from staffer with connection to bribery scandal
- Jan. 25, 2017: Construction CEO pleads guilty to federal corruption, bribery charges
- Jan. 25, 2017: Man charged with intimidating bribery witness tied to mayor operative
- Jan. 19, 2017: Mayor responds to allegations of $1M bribery scandal involving city contracts
Former City of Atlanta deputy chief of staff charged with accepting bribes
ATLANTA - Evelyn Katrina Taylor-Parks has been charged with conspiring to accept bribe payments while serving as the City of Atlanta’s Deputy Chief of Staff to the Mayor.
“As the Deputy Chief of Staff, the City of Atlanta and its citizens placed immeasurable trust in Parks to act in the best interests of the city,” said U.S. Attorney Byung J. “BJay” Pak. “Public officials have a responsibility to lead with integrity. Regrettably, Parks allegedly exchanged the power and trust given to her for bribe money paid by a city contractor.”
“Great trust was placed in Parks as Deputy Chief of Staff and she is charged with abusing that position to serve her own financial interests,” said J. C. “Chris” Hacker, Special Agent in Charge of FBI Atlanta. “Because actions like this erode the public’s trust in government, the FBI will continue to vigorously pursue any public official who chooses to violate that trust.”
“Parks’ alleged engagement in personal benefit over the public’s trust cannot be tolerated as a high ranking city official,” said Thomas J. Holloman, Special Agent in Charge of IRS-Criminal Investigation Atlanta. “Pay to play politics will continue to drive IRS-CI and its partners to follow the money in this saga of city hall malfeasance.”
According to U.S. Attorney Pak, the charges, and other information presented in court: From approximately January 2010 to May 2018, Parks served as the Deputy Chief of Staff to the Mayor of the City of Atlanta, working with the Chief of Staff, Chief Operating Officer, and Department Commissioners to advance the administration’s legislative agenda with the Atlanta City Council. She also served as a representative on several community outreach committees. From 2011 to February 2014, Parks conspired to accept bribes from a vendor with the City of Atlanta. The vendor paid Parks thousands of dollars, and in return the vendor received tens of thousands of dollars for City of Atlanta contract work. Parks filed financial disclosure statements with the City of Atlanta in which she falsely attested that she was not self-employed or employed by any business or entity other than the City of Atlanta.
Evelyn Katrina Taylor-Parks, 49, of Douglas County, Georgia, has been charged in a criminal information with one count of conspiratorial bribery. Parks is expected to plead guilty to the charge at 3:00 p.m. on August 13, 2018, before U.S. District Judge Steve C. Jones.
This case is being investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Internal Revenue Service.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeffrey W. Davis, Chief of the Public Integrity and Special Matters Sections, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Jill E. Steinberg, Deputy Chief of the Criminal Division are prosecuting the case.
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