Upon my return from a business trip with other Atlanta citizens in Portland, Oregon, I learned of an Atlanta Business Chronicle article that raised serious questions regarding allegations of bribery in municipal government.
As you know, there has been no higher priority for me personally or professionally than to restore the public's confidence in open, honest government. Let me be clear: there is a zero tolerance for unethical or illegal conduct in this administration. Everyone who knows me and works for me knows that.
These are the facts:
- Three months into this administration, an employee of Roland Pugh Construction Inc. attempted to bribe a City employee.
- That employee felt confident enough in the integrity of our process to immediately report the incident to his supervisor and he believed it would be properly addressed.
- The law department investigated the incident and reported it to the company. That individual who attempted to bribe the City employee was subsequently fired.
- The City was contacted by the Department of Justice regarding a trial in Birmingham, Alabama involving Roland Pugh Construction.
- The only information that Department of Justice sought from the City was related to this incident involving the City employee who refused the attempted bribe.
We have conducted a preliminary review of every Roland Pugh Construction contract and will thoroughly examine every contract to ensure there are no improprieties.
I am more committed than ever to maintaining the highest ethical standards in my administration. We will continue to work with law enforcement to weed out any form of corruption that we become aware of at any time.