Douglas County officials charged with rigging contract for janitor at a county building

A Douglas County grand jury has now indicted several elected officials, county employees and more on allegations that they rigged a bid for janitorial services.

Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr announced the indictment on Friday afternoon.

The indictment, obtained by Channel 2 Action News, names County Chairwoman Romona Jackson Jones, Commissioner Henry Mitchell, Tax Commissioner Greg Baker, former Purchasing Director Bill Peacock and Anthony Knight, the owner of S & A Express.

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All five are being charged with conspiracy in restraint of free and open competition in transactions. Jones is also facing an additional charge of making false statements.

The indictment states that between May and June 2018, the Douglas County Board of Commissioners was accepting bids for a janitorial contract at an annex building.

Prosecutors allege that Jones, Mitchell, Baker and Peacock had already promised the contract to Knight’s company, S & A Express.

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The indictment says that Knight missed the window for submitting a bid, to the defendants asked for a second window to accept bids. When he missed that one as well, they looked at all of the bids submitted and accepted Knight’s late submission that matched the lowest bid that was submitted on time.

They ultimately gave the contract to Knight.

Jones’ charge of making false statements comes from a June 2022 interview with the GBI in which she told agents that she had not signed a contract with S & A Express before the contact went through the Board of Commissioners.

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