DEKALB COUNTY, Ga. — Search warrants have been issued for emails exchanged between DeKalb County leaders, including interim CEO Lee May, in a corruption investigation first exposed by Channel 2 Action News and the Atlanta Journal Constitution.
The warrants were issued in DeKalb County Superior Court on Tuesday and obtained by Channel 2 Action News.
The court documents indicate investigators are looking for emails between May, during the time he was a county commissioner; the former chief of staff to the commission, Morris Williams; and former county purchasing director Kelvin Walton.
Investigators are trying to find any discussions of county money being spent to clean up a sewage spill at May's home and allegations of what could be a kickback check from the company that did the work.
Sewage Spill Investigation
Records show DeKalb County taxpayers paid roughly $6,500 for removal of raw sewage and restoration work at May's home after a county sewage pipe flooded parts of the house in December 2010.
May contends the county properly paid for the work but admitted during our interview that he did receive special treatment in getting immediate approval from the purchasing department.
The county also directly paid the bill without May having to lay out the money himself, which was not standard practice.
The investigators are also interested in a $4,000 check made out to Lee May personally, which was also exposed by our investigation.
It's written from the vendor who did the work at his home, and that company went on to win hundreds of thousands of dollars in DeKalb County contracts.
May told us he never received a penny of that money.
The middleman who said he got the check for May told us it was supposed to be to help May out of financial trouble.
In an interview in April, Doug Cotter said he gave the money to Morris Williams to give to May.
The warrants were served upon the county's Information Technology department, and specifically request the three officials' emails from the date of the sewage spill through the awarding of the contract the following year.
These search warrants give the county 10 days to hand over the emails.
May's Reaction
May quickly responded with a statement that said in part, "I have said from the very beginning that I expect full cooperation from all county employees as it pertains to the ongoing investigations. I include myself in that directive, and I have ordered staff to comply completely and as rapidly as possible."
"I share the sentiments of everyone who wants to get to the bottom of corruption and wrongdoing, and these search warrants are a step in this process. Personally, I have nothing to hide; and there will be nothing in my email to suggest I have done anything wrong," May concluded.
May was appointed CEO after the suspension and indictment of his predecessor, Burrell Ellis.
In July, a jury found Ellis guilty of perjury and theft by extortion.
WSBTV
