Georgia governor suspends Newton County commissioner accused of taking kickback

COVINGTON, Ga. (AP) — Gov. Brian Kemp has suspended the chairman of a suburban Atlanta county commission after the official was indicted on charges alleging he took a kickback on a real estate deal.

Kemp on Thursday suspended Newton County Commission Chairman Marcello Banes from office until the case is resolved or his term runs out. That also means the county won’t pay Banes’ salary for the suspension period unless he is cleared of the charges

Banes and Newton County Commissioner-elect Stephanie Lindsey were both indicted in June on federal money laundering charges related to the 2019 sale of property by an economic development agency.

The indictment alleges that Banes, who was a voting member of the Joint Development Authority of Jasper, Newton, Morgan and Walton counties, hid a deal for the buyer of the property to pay a $150,000 commission to Lindsey.

The company isn’t named in the indictment, but Newton County property records show Prism Investments in March 2019 paid $3 million for the land described in court papers.

U.S. Attorney Ryan Buchanan has said the company didn’t know Banes was going to get a kickback and wouldn’t have paid Lindsey if it had known. The authority has also said it knew of no illegal activity.

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Bank records show Lindsey in turn passed $100,000 of the money to Banes. The indictment alleges Banes used $84,000 of the money to buy a house, and that Lindsey later wrote a $28,000 check for basement and foundation work on Banes’ new house.

Banes is also charged with lying to FBI agents about Lindsey’s involvement, while Lindsey is charged with filing false tax returns that didn’t acknowledge that she or her real estate agency had received the $150,000.

Both Banes and Lindsey have pleaded not guilty and are free on bail. A trial date hasn’t been set.

Banes said in a statement after he was indicted that he looks forward “to clearing my name and demonstrating my good character,” pledging he would keep working for Newton County residents and that “I am not going anywhere.”

Lindsey said in a statement that she looks “forward to the truth coming out in court. That truth is, as an attorney and a public servant of this county, I would not knowingly break any law.”

Both Banes and Lindsey won Democratic primaries for Newton County Commission earlier this year and face no Republican opponent in November. Banes is in line for another term as the commission’s leader and Lindsey in line for a district commission seat. The charges mean Kemp could have to suspend each when their new terms begin on Jan. 1.

Banes was first elected in 2016.