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Bribery Scheme

Wednesday, September 5, 2012

Shirley Lasseter Sentenced to 33 Months in Prison for Accepting Bribes

Lasseter has four to six weeks to report to the federal prison she will be assigned to.

Former Gwinnett County Commissioner Shirley Lasseter was sentenced to 33 months in federal prison without parole on Wednesday for accepting bribes. Sentencing was delayed until Sept. 18 for Lasseter’s son, John Fanning, and another defendant, Carl “Skip” Cain. Lasseter has four to six weeks to report to federal prison. U.S. Judge Charles A. Pannell Jr. recommended that she be incarcerated close to Atlanta so she can be close to her family. Lasseter's attorney, Stephen Johnson, had argued in federal court in Atlanta for a 24-month sentence, but the judge opted for the U.S. Attorney’s Office’s recommendation. Several family members and friends spoke on Lasseter’s behalf, asking for leniency based on her record of community service to Duluth …

Matthew Loop

9:43 am on Thursday, September 6, 2012

If they sentenced every politician (locally or nationally) that accepted bribes, we would barely have any left. It's a huge conflict of interest.   more ›

Former Gwinnett Planning Commissioner Charged With Bribery

Feds say developer Mark Gary paid Lasseter $30,000 to influence her vote on a solid waste transfer station.

Mark Gary, a former Gwinnett County planning commissioner, has been charged by federal authorities in Atlanta with bribery in connection with a payment made to then-Commissioner Shirley Lasseter, according to media reports. The Atlanta Journal Constitution reported Sept. 5 that Gary, who is part of Gary Holding Group in Johns Creek, paid $30,000 in casino chips to influence Lasseter's vote on a solid waste transfer station in Norcross. Lasseter voted for the transfer station on April 28, 2009. The following June, Gary gave the chips to her son, John Fanning, federal court documents say. Lasseter, whose Gwinnett District 1 included Suwanee, Duluth and Sugar Hill, appointed Gary to the planning commission in 2009, according to media reports…

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