ATLANTA — A state investigation on Thursday delivered a new blow to the agency charged with policing the ethics of Georgia's public officials.
Inspector General Elizabeth Archer has found that two lawyers for the state ethics commission ran a private law firm that misused state resources.
Channel 2's Richard Belcher broke the story last fall when Georgia Bureau of Investigation agents were inspecting computer hard drives from the ethics commission's offices. Agents said they were searching for evidence against Thomas Plank and Yasha Heidari.
Archer released her report Thursday, writing Heidari and Plank violated state policy on outside employment by failing to get approval from their supervisor before they started a private law firm.
Archer also cited cases the men handled in several metro Atlanta counties, and as far away as Augusta, stating that the two communicated with opposing counsel and attended court hearings on state time.
The report also stated that Heidari and Plank used a state-paid account to research cases involving subjects such as child support, toxic mold, medical malpractice, concealed weapons permits and trade names. None of these things had anything to do with the work of the ethics commission, according to Belcher.
The final investigation also revealed Plank's former secretary told inspectors when Plank was out of the office without notification she would record that as annual leave, but he would sometimes instruct her to change that to sick leave.
Sick leave usage for both lawyers rose significantly soon after they began their law firm last year, and continued to rise, according to the report.
A state official told the inspector general the pattern for both of them raised red flags about potential sick leave abuses, Belcher said.
The commission's former budget officer had also filed suit claiming she was fired for blowing the whistle on the lawyers, Belcher reported.
Stacy Kalberman, who runs the ethics commission, had no comment. Heidari, who is no longer a state employee, had not responded to Belcher's e-mails.
WSBTV
