Floyd schools RICO case makes progress
The conclusion of a three-year police investigation, a $2.3 settlement, and a court-ordered auction fall in 2017 in the continuing saga of decade-long thefts totaling $6.3 million.
The RICO case concerning decadelong thefts totaling $6.3 million from Floyd County Schools had some major developments this past year.
These included the wrapping up of the Floyd County police investigation in September, Floyd County Schools reaching a $2.3 million settlement with Johnson Controls Inc., and a court-ordered auction in November bringing in over a million dollars for the school system.
Investigation wraps up
For almost three years, Floyd County police Maj. Jeff Jones and Chief Mark Wallace, then the assistant police chief, followed the money trail, leading to the arrests of 13 people and seizures of property linked to the thefts — over $1 million in property and $531,260.80 in cash.
Those arrested are each charged with inflating and falsifying invoices paid by the school system and violating the Georgia Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act and other crimes. More arrests are probable, Wallace said.
The two investigators delivered the 3,000-page case summary to District Attorney Leigh Patterson’s office in early September.
Besides the personal toll it had on their lives from working a case of such magnitude — the biggest Jones and Wallace said they’ve ever worked — $429,920.94 in expenses were accrued. Jones, who was described as the architect of the investigation, and Wallace conducted over 250 interviews in four states — Georgia, Alabama, Florida and Washington — and years of bank account and credit card data.
The men racked up 4,803 miles of air travel and drove an estimated 13,920 miles. There is also an estimated 19,382 man hours put into the case, with personnel expenses totaling $382,248.88.
Wallace said in September that they’d followed every lead they had and felt it was time to put it in the hands of the court.
Settlement
On Nov. 2, the Floyd County Board of Education approved a settlement with Johnson Controls Inc. which will pay the system $2.3 million and provide services and equipment for two years.
Derry Richardson, the former maintenance director for the system and who investigators said was the mastermind of the thefts, had worked for Johnson Controls before taking the position with Floyd County Schools; however, the company is not a party in the RICO lawsuit — there is a criminal case and civil suit. No indictments have been handed down in the criminal case and the civil case has not gone to trial.
The state attempted to add Johnson Controls as a party to the ongoing civil case against several defendants, including Richardson. That request was denied in Floyd County Superior Court, with Judge Tami Colston stating a court-imposed deadline to add parties had already passed.
A Floyd County police investigative summary for that case stated Johnson Controls received and paid for fake invoices from Steve Bevill, who has not been criminally charged.
Bevill worked as a subcontractor for Johnson Controls to do work for the Floyd County Board of Education, the police summary states. Richardson allegedly negotiated those contracts and insisted that Johnson Controls hire Bevill to perform part or all of the work on a given project.
During a court hearing, lawyers for Johnson Controls said the company has been cooperating with investigators since December 2015 and met with police and provided over 25,000 pages of documents.
There have been several settlements in the civil case.
Auction
Over 1,000 people attended a courtordered auction of the seized and forfeited items from the RICO case Nov. 18, at the Coosa Valley Fairgrounds.
The auction took in about $1,045,000 in proceeds, after the sale of items including Richardson’s home as well as furniture, vehicles and firearms.
Floyd County Schools is waiting to receive the proceeds from the auction. Local attorney Brian Bojo, who is the court-appointed receiver for the civil case, currently is in control of the funds. Once the system receives the proceeds, they will go into the ELOST 4 account to help fund planned projects.