Many whistleblower cases are political in nature, and some are high dollar value situations involving big-city governments. There is an ongoing investigation into bribery within the city of Jackson which may be connected to similar problems that have surfaced over in Atlanta.
One woman who used to work for the city of Jackson was responsible for certifying companies for the city’s minority business program. She has in-depth knowledge of which companies were being registered and by whom, and which contracts those companies were getting. One individual, who contributed fifteen thousand dollars to the mayor’s campaign, registered two companies right after an election and those companies went on to win part of a valuable contract. The same person joined with a suspect in the Atlanta bribery case to register a third company, in 2015. That company won part of a major hotel construction project. Other people who are connected to the Atlanta bribery scandal had also formed companies in Jackson, but not all of them had secured contracts by the time that the scandal broke.
During the time that the woman worked for the city of Jackson, Kishia Powell was the director of public works in Jackson. Powell is currently the Watershed Commissioner in Atlanta and is being investigated as part of a bribery situation there. It is possible that Powell was steering contracts while working in Jackson, just as she is suspected of doing in Atlanta. Powell’s attorney has issued a statement that says that she has never steered any contracts.
Because of the duties of her position, the former Jackson employee saw the connections between some of the people who were registering businesses in the city and the former public works director. She also witnessed corruption on several Jackson committees and has cooperated with investigations of those situations. The woman got fired from her position in Jackson, and she is suing the city for sexual harassment in addition to retaliation. She would like to encourage individuals who find themselves in positions like the one that she was in to cooperate with investigations because they have valuable information to contribute. The way that municipal governments work, especially in major cities, places some people in positions where they can see things that no one else can see. When contract steering, bribery, or other wrongdoing is taking place, the people who are engaging in the wrongdoing often seek to discourage anyone who might see what’s going on from doing anything about it, and they don’t always discourage them gently.
The Mississippi Whistleblower Attorneys at Barrett Law PLLC support brave individuals like the woman who used to work for the city of Jackson who try to address possible wrongdoing in their public or private workplaces. If you have experienced retaliation for cooperating in an investigation or exposing wrongdoing, you may be able to seek legal protection as a whistleblower. To learn more about whistleblower protection, call the Mississippi Whistleblower attorneys at Barrett Law PLLC today, at 1 (601) 790-1505 to schedule an initial consultation.
