Audit of ex-mayor’s affair can’t say how much public money was misspent
A six-month metro government investigation into former Nashville Mayor Megan Barry’s affair with her police bodyguard did not determine how much public money was used for overtime and out-of-town trips.
A long-awaited city audit, released Wednesday, validates claims that former Sgt. Rob Forrest conducted non-Metrorelated activities while being paid by the city. The audit also says Barry and Forrest’s guilty pleas to theft violated city ethics standards implemented by Barry.
Conversely, the report says the allegation Barry and Forrest used city funds for “exclusively personal” out-of-town trips is unsubstantiated.
But Metro Auditor Mark Swann’s report, which he said took 1,400 hours to complete at a cost of $100,000, offers few new details about the affair or possible misconduct.
For instance, it does not tally the total compensation Forrest received for non-Metrorelated activities, which it called “not determinable.”
Barry, elected Nashville mayor in 2015, resigned on March 6 after admitting on Jan. 31 to a nearly two-year affair with Forrest. Forrest and Barry both pleaded guilty to theft of more than $10,000 as part of a deal with Nashville District Attorney Glenn Funk. Barry agreed to reimburse Metro $11,000 and Forrest agreed to pay back $45,000.
Swann faced constraints when investigating the affair, he said in his report.
The Davidson County District Attorney’s Office did not provide details of the plea agreement with Metro auditors, according to a 39-page report. In addition, the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation did not release results of its investigation.
The Metro Audit Committee voted Feb. 13 to launch the audit before Barry resigned March 6. It was originally set to be part of an investigation led by the council. That probe was abandoned after Barry left office.
At the direction of the council and committee on April 10, Swann pushed ahead with the investigation, even though Barry had resigned. The stated purpose was to review whether there was any improper use of public money involving the travel and expenses related to the affair.
Swann said Barry did not violate internal policies for getting travel or expenses on trips approved. However, whether the nature of the trip was for city business was never called into question before her resignation.
The audit said it reviewed 949.5 hours of overtime that Forrest collected in 2016 and 2017 escorting Barry, but found only 13 extra hours that did not overlap with Barry’s itinerary and calendar. It found 12 instances in which his overtime did not match Barry’s schedule.
The audit did not say if it sought to verify the accuracy of Barry’s calendar or the legitimacy of Forrest’s hours.
A separate investigation by The Tennessean in February found Forrest racked up hundreds of hours of overtime in Nashville, escorting the mayor to hot yoga classes and hockey games, latenight concerts and trendy restaurants — many of which were listed on her public schedule.
The Tennessean’s review found, in some instances, there were no events on Barry’s calendar during times Forrest earned overtime pay.
The audit found that Barry and Forrest took more trips together than had previously been released by Barry’s office.
Barry took 38 total trips, including 34 after March 2016 when records indicate their affair began. Forrest was present on 24 of those trips. On seven of them, Barry and Forrest were the only Metro officials who traveled.
“All seven trips were verified as related to official duties of then-Mayor Megan Barry,” the audit report concluded.
Contact Joey Garrison at 615-259-8236, jgarrison@tennessean.com and on Twitter @Joeygarrison.