Clayton County solicitor general calling for investigation into Roberta Abdul-Salaam

JONESBORO, Ga. — Clayton County's solicitor general is now calling for a Georgia Bureau of Investigation probe after Channel 2 Action News exposed a county employee who got paid with no evidence she did any work.

Tasha Mosley told investigative reporter Jodie Fleischer, "We're definitely held to a higher standard, because we're paid by the taxpayers. So when it comes to watching over my office, I can't pass the buck."

Mosley's predecessor, Leslie Miller-Tate, hired Roberta Abdul-Salaam in September 2007 as a part-time administrative assistant. After receiving a tip from a viewer, Fleischer filed an open records request asking for all records concerning that employment.

"The paperwork that we uncovered pursuant to your open records request showed that Abdul-Salaam did some work in database, pre-trial intervention and I think a newsletter," Mosley said.

Fleischer asked what evidence Mosley found documenting any of that work.

"So far, nothing," replied Mosley.

Mosley says the Comprehensive Judicial Information System (CJIS) is the computer system in the solicitor general's office. All records concerning defendants, sentences, and the pre-trial diversion program are in that system and employees have to log in to access them.

"They track everything that you do to your employee number," said Mosley.

The Clayton County Information Technology department confirmed Abdul-Salaam, who was a state representative at the time, was assigned a log-in, but found "no record of her employee number being used to add or update records in our CJIS system."

Fleischer asked if it is feasible to think someone could have worked there for an entire year while never having logged onto the computer system?

"No," replied Mosley. "Everybody under me, even my interns, have logged in to the computer."

Records show Abdul-Salaam worked part time for the county through December 2008 and earned roughly $14,127.

"There's nothing to it, it's meritless. It's baseless," said Tawanna Morgan, an attorney and friend who spoke on Abdul-Salaam's behalf.

"The reason there were no log-ins on the desktop computers is because Ms. Abdul- Salaam used her own personal laptop computer," said Morgan.

Abdul-Salaam's time sheets claim she did work on a "database," the "pre-trial diversion program" and "research."

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Fleischer asked how that could be done without accessing any records.

"I never said she didn't access records. I said she was given everything she needed and she was able to do the job effectively with her laptop," said Morgan.

Mosley said even remote access to the computer system would have been recorded by Abdul-Salaam's employee number.

Mosley sent asking Clayton County's police chief to call in the GBI to investigate.

Former Solicitor General Leslie Miller-Terry, who signed off on many of Abdul-Salaam's time sheets, is now running for district attorney. Fleischer reached her campaign manager, but Miller-Terry never returned the message.

Abdul-Salaam is currently running for Clayton County commission chairman.

Morgan said she believes the investigation is politically motivated.

WSBTV