District Attorneys: No Jurisdiction To Review Ball Ground Recycling Audit

Two metro Atlanta district attorneys are denying claims by Carolyn Cosby, the Independent candidate for the Cherokee County Commission Chair seat, that she’s asked them to review the forensic audit of the failed Ball Ground Recycling venture.

Cosby on Thursday held a press conference on the third floor of the Cherokee County Justice Center — outside the offices of Blue Ridge Judicial Circuit District Attorney Shannon Wallace — and reiterated her calls for Wallace to keep the investigation into the deal open and active.

Cosby also said she is requesting Wallace to allow the investigation, which was closed by her office and a Cherokee County grand jury, to remain open for at least nine months “and allow the public to review this audit before it is shut down.”

“We deserve at least as much time as she has becaue we work, we have jobs and other responsibilities, and this is her job to do,” Cosby said. “And at the same time, we are going to recommend to her that if she cannot do this job, we have already asked counties that are associated with us that have experience in investigating white collar crimes in Gwinnett County and Cobb County: Danny Porter and Vic Reynolds. Those two district attorneys are experienced and are willing to handle this investigation for us and we believe that should be done.”

Not so fast, according to those district attorneys.

Reynolds, through spokesperson Kim Isaza, said “this matter is not within the jurisdiction of the Cobb District Attorney’s Office.”

“We have full confidence in the Cherokee County DA,” he stated.

Porter, the district attorney for Gwinnett, also stated he has not been contacted by anyone regarding the Ball Ground Recycling forensic audit.

“I would refuse to review the material in any event since I have no jurisdiction in Cherokee County,” he stated.

During her press conference, Cosby was flanked by supporters and what she said was a hard copy of the forensic audit, which was completed by McClendon & Associates.

She also had a few detractors who showed up and stood adjacent to her staging area. Those citizens were holding signs that raised questions about Cosby’s ability to handle her own finances.

According to records from the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of Georgia, Cosby and her husband David filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy in 2009.

Residents who attended the press conference attempted to ask her questions about her finances, but she said she would only take questions from members of the press and would not discuss her financial affairs.

She noted the press conference was strictly for the forensic audit and her efforts to keep the investigation open.

“We can talk about my bankruptcy as a subject on another day,” she said. “But I can tell you this much: it wasn’t about mismanagement; it was being out of funds.”

The grand jury noted in its presentments for the May 2014 term that it did “not find a prosecutable criminal case with regards to the Ball Ground Recycling project.”

“We recommend that no further county or state resources be expended by the district attorney’s office, the Cherokee County Sheriffs Office or the Georgia Bureau of Investigation on any criminal investigation or attempted criminal prosecution of the matters relating to the Ball Ground Recycling Project,” the grand jury wrote. “Instead, this grand jury recommends that all county resources be dedicated to aggressively seeking a buyer for the Ball Ground Recycling facility and mitigating the financial losses that this project has needlessly cost the taxpayers of Cherokee County.”

Wallace added that she respected the grand jury’s recommendation and that she and her staff dedicated hundreds of hours in investigating and reviewing the forensic audit.

Wallace noted that now the county is at the end of its efforts, which were based upon an “extremely methodical and sifting investigation” conducted by the Cherokee Sheriff’s Office and the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, it can be concluded that “there are no viable criminal charges” that can be lodged in the case and it would be “highly irresponsible to utilize further resources to continue to pursue what is certain to be a fruitless prosecution.”

(Photo: Carolyn Cosby, second from right, speaks during Thursday’s press conference as residents (from left), Bob Rugg, Deb Wallace, Debbie Proctor and Linda Flory hold signs raising questions about Cosby’s finances. Credit: Kristal Dixon)