Mitzi Bickers, Public Corruption, Georgia 2023

Atlanta Official Sentenced 14 Years for Bribery, Money Laundering

A former high-ranking official in the City of Atlanta, Mitzi L. Bickers, has been sentenced to 14 years in federal prison for accepting approximately $3 million in bribe money to influence government contracts, money laundering, lying to the City of Atlanta to maintain her salary and cabinet-level position, and failing to disclose more than $600,000 in income on her federal tax return.

Bickers, the former Director of Human Services for the City of Atlanta, was found to have accepted bribe payments directly and on behalf of other public officials to steer valuable contracts to businessmen Elvin R. Mitchell, Jr. and Charles P. Richards, Jr. from February 2010 to May 2013.

The scheme involved Bickers selling sensitive, non-public information to Mitchell and Richards, which was critical to their ability to obtain certain valuable contracts. Bickers accepted money in two distinct ways: (1) Mitchell and Richards paid Bickers "up-front" money, where Bickers arranged for Mitchell and Richards to pay her bribe money in advance of the work to secure the award of a contract; and (2) Mitchell and Richards paid Bickers "kick-backs," where Bickers instructed Mitchell and Richards to inflate the cost of their work with the City so that Mitchell and Richards could then pay Bickers a percentage of what they earned.

Between 2010 and 2013, Mitchell's and Richards's companies received City of Atlanta contracts worth millions of dollars for emergency snow removal, sidewalk repair and maintenance, and bridge reconstruction.

Bickers used most of the bribe money to purchase a $775,000 lakefront home in 2011. She also filed numerous false City of Atlanta Financial Disclosure forms, swearing under penalty of perjury that she had engaged in no financial relationships with any outside businesses and did not receive more than $5,000 in income from any outside sources.

According to U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Buchanan, Bickers' substantial prison sentence serves as a message to anyone tempted to sell the public's trust for personal gain. The FBI and IRS-Criminal Investigation will continue to investigate public officials and those who wish to wrongly influence public officials for personal gain.

Mitzi L. Bickers, Defendant, Accepting Bribes, Money Laundering, and Tax Evasion (CRIMINAL CHARGES); Atlanta, Georgia; February 2010 to May 2013; 14 years in prison.

Source: https://www.justice.gov/usao-ndga/pr/former-city-atlanta-employee-mitzi-bickers-sentenced-14-years-federal-prison