Two key lawyers — one a private attorney who was previously a federal prosecutor and the other a current state prosecutor — last week indicated that a GBI investigation into Bulloch County public works contracts involving Sand Creek Land Construction ended without finding any reason for criminal charges.

The first such public indication came during the Bulloch County Board of Commissioners meeting the morning of Aug. 19. Under "new business," the agenda proposed three "on call" contracts between the county and Sand Creek Land Construction, which is owned by Clay Conner, brother of county Commissioner Toby Conner.

But before the meeting reached that point, lawyer Jim Durham, now in private practice and representing Clay Conner and his company, spoke to the board during public comments time. Durham was previously an assistant U.S. attorney (2002-2017), in the Southern District of Georgia, including as first-assistant U.S. attorney (2010-2017) and acting U.S. attorney (2017).

"I prosecuted fraud and public corruption. The person who started the Gary Lewis case was me, when Greg Parker called me up and said, 'Gary Lewis is trying to bribe me.' The person who prosecuted the Will Britt case was me," said Durham, naming cases that involved two former Statesboro City Council members.

He also stated that he prosecuted former Savannah police chief Willie Lovett "for protecting a gambling operation" and former state Rep. Robin Williams for stealing more than $2 million from a community health center in the Augusta area.

"I say that not to pat myself on the back. I say that to tell you that I know public corruption and I know fraud, and the allegations that have been made against Clay and his company were as far from that as you can possibly imagine," Durham said.

Now with his own law firm with offices in Atlanta, Macon and Savannah, Durham said he would only get involved in a situation like this when he thinks "people have been treated unfairly, and Clay has been treated unfairly."

Conner stood beside Durham but did not speak to the board until later.

Durham read something that had been posted on social media the day before by someone commenting that citizens were concerned because county officials proposed more contracts with a firm owned by Commissioner Toby Conner's brother with no other bidders. The commenter also noted that there was a GBI investigation.

Durham said he had reviewed the case fully and found only that Conner "is providing an excellent service for Bulloch County."

'The GBI agent'

"When I saw this posting last night, I called the GBI agent, I said I know you guys don't typically … agree to the existence of an investigation, you don't agree that an investigation has been terminated, and I told the GBI agent, this is a time that you guys need to step up. … He said, 'From my perspective, this case is closed.'"

After Durham's remarks, commissioners Chairman David Bennett said, "Last time I looked we were still in the United States of America, and a man is innocent until he's proven guilty. … And I'll tell y'all, stand by."

At the start of the "new business" part of the meeting, Commissioner Toby Conner recused himself for the first three items — the proposed contracts with his brother's company — and left the board dais. 

Bennett then clarified that he was seeking confirmation that the investigation had been closed.

"I'm still working to confirm, and I'm going to request that we table the items that were 1, 2 and 3 until our meeting September 2," Bennett said.

But that didn't happen. Commissioner Nick Newkirk made a motion, seconded by Commissioner Ray Davis, to table the items, but the motion failed 3-2. Commissioners Ray Mosley, Anthony Simmons and Timmy Rushing voted "no," and Conner was recused.

The three contracts, as explained by county Public Works Director Dink Butler and Assistant Public Works Director Robert Seamans, are "as needed" contracts for the work of dump trucks and their drivers, a long-haul tractor-trailer truck and its driver and a specialty tractor-trailer rig. The dump trucks assist the county fleet with various projects or for cleanups after storms, and the larger trucks would haul crushed rock to assist with road repairs.

For all three contracts, the county sent out notices to vendors, posted them on websites and in the Statesboro Herald on July 17. County staff then held the openings of sealed bids July 31, and in all three instances, just one company, Sand Creek, submitted a bid, Seamans reported.

Contract terms

For the first contract, for providing tandem dump trucks to the county, with an operator on an as-needed basis, Sand Creek bid $105 per hour, for an eight-hour minimum plus one hour ride time.

For the second contract, on the regular long-haul tractor-trailer, Sand Creek's rates were $13.88 per ton for trips to and from the Ellabell Rock Yard, $26 a ton for the Augusta Rock Quarry, $26.19 for the Appling Warrenton Quarry, and $44.97 for the Molena Dirt location. For the third contract, the specialty tractor-trailer for larger "rip rap" stone, Sand Creek bid $30.50 per ton for the Augusta Rock Quarry trips and $32.96 per ton for the Appling Warrenton Quarry.

Any potential bidders were asked to bid on trips to these locations, but again, only the one company bid. The contracts are for one year with an option to renew for four successive one-year terms. 

"This information went out to over 300 different contacts for bid," Butler told the commissioners and public. "This is a prime example of the same information that we gave back during the storm, of why we only had two people that were interested in helping us, and so Clay as a member of this community has stepped up and helped us through the storm process, through the recovery process for the last two years with everything that we've had going on, and I would expect that continued relationship moving forward."

The 300 "contacts" included a count of email addresses.

The commissioners approved all three contracts 5-0 on a series of motions.

PAC prosecutor's memo

Last week's second source for information that the Georgia Bureau of Investigation's probe has ended with no action taken was a memo from Christopher A. George, state prosecutor for the Prosecuting Attorneys' Council of Georgia, addressed to GBI Special Agent Justin Jones.

The memo, or letter, was dated Aug. 20 — the day after Durham addressed the commissioners — and was posted by WTOC Television on its website.

Under a heading with the GBI case number and the title "Bulloch County Commission/Sand Creek Construction Investigation," the state prosecutor wrote:

"Dear Special Agent Jones, The Prosecuting Attorneys' Council has reviewed your investigative file in the above-titled case and discussed the case with you. PAC has appointed the case to our office for disposition. …

"Based on your findings and our analysis of the case, there is no readily provable criminal intent, and the case is declined. Thank you, Christopher A. George …"

District Attorney Robert Busbee of the Ogeechee Judicial Circuit had contacted the GBI to request the investigation on Feb. 28. In early June, Busbee said he had done this after receiving a tip from a citizen, whose identity he could not release, and had immediately recused himself and the circuit D.A.'s Office from the case by reaching out to the Prosecuting Attorneys Council.

The day of Dunham's remarks, the Statesboro Herald left a phone message for Busbee's non-attorney chief of staff, Lindsay Gribble. She responded with an email stating that the D.A.'s Office had not asked the GBI about the case, nor been provided any answers, since Busbee's recusal. 

"We do not know whether the investigation is ongoing or closed, as it would be inappropriate for us to have involvement," Gribble had written.

Bennett's statement

Bennett, in a statment dated Aug. 21 but distributed by the commissioners' Community Affairs Director Dal Cannady to media organizations on Friday, Aug. 22, acknowledged the Prosecuting Attorneys' Council memo.

The GBI had requested records from the county Public Works Department last spring, Bennett noted in his letter, and stated that county officials had cooperated fully.

"We were notified by one media outlet of the Prosecuting Attorneys' Council memo indicating that the investigation has been closed and are thankful that the questions surrounding this matter have been put to rest," Bennett wrote.

"We have always stood by our dedicated Bulloch County employees and will continue to do so," he stated. "Public Works Director Dink Butler, along with his entire team, worked tirelessly to recover our county from the storms of last year.

"Their exceptional hard work ensured that Bulloch County recovered faster than most other counties, enabling roads to be safely passable for both public safety personnel and residents. Their efforts have always been focused on the best interests of Bulloch County and its citizens, and they should be commended for their service and response during the back-to-back hurricanes last fall and the extensive recovery afterward," Bennett continued. "Throughout those challenging storm recovery efforts, and in their daily operations, the Bulloch County Public Works Department has consistently followed established county policy and will continue to do so."