Snellville Mayor Indicted On Tax Evasion, Theft Charges

SNELLVILLE, GA — A Gwinnett County grand jury on Thursday handed up indictments on 66 counts against Snellville Mayor Tom Witts — 65 of which are felonies.

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports that Witt is charged with tax evasion, lying on official documents, improperly allowing his business to perform work for the city and using campaign funds for personal expenses. The charges come after years of investigations by state and local officials.

The lone misdemeanor indictment involves charges that Witt used 2015 campaign funds on a pornography website, Gwinnett County District Attorney Danny Porter told the AJC. Reached by the paper Thursday afternoon, Witts said he hadn't yet seen the indictment.

Porter had confirmed last April that Witts was under investigation and that his home and business were raided by Georgia Bureau of Investigation officers last March.

The Georgia Bureau of Investigation and state Department of Revenue were reportedly part of the investigation of Witts.

Witts' taxes became an issue during the mayoral election in 2015. He said at the time he had taken money from a 401k account to pay back taxes and penalties he owed.

A native of Simpson, Pennsylvania, Witts is a U.S. Navy veteran and CEO of Georgia Property Restoration.
He served on Snellville's city council from 2009 until last year, when he resigned to run for mayor.

To read the full report from the AJC, click here.

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