The FBI has subpoenaed documents from the city of Jackson, including but not limited to the activities of Mayor Frank Melton, according to Special Assistant to the City Attorney Pieter Teeuwissen.
"The FBI issued several subpoenas regarding several matters to the city attorney, and the city attorney's office produced documents to comply with these requests," Teeuwissen said. "The FBI asked for the information last Friday, and the deadline to answer back was Wednesday of this week. That's all I can say. The government themselves ask us not to disclose the content. They've asked me not to comment on anything specific."
There long have been indications that the FBI is investigating the mayor.
Last October, Melton bodyguard Det. Marcus Wright filed an affidavit in a court pleading that included information about a meeting Wright had with FBI agents in September. Wright called District Attorney Faye Peterson seeking a plea deal on Sept. 15, 2006, the day he was indicted with Melton on multiple felony counts for the demolition of a duplex at 1305 Ridgeway Street the previous Aug. 26.
A Hinds County Circuit Court jury found Melton, Wright and Det. Michael Recio not guilty on April 26, 2007.
In his affidavit, Wright said that when he came to Peterson for a plea deal, she directed him to the FBI.
"I asked (Peterson) what I needed to do to get out of the charges, and she said I needed to call Agent Phillip McDonald with the FBI and gave me Agent McDonald's telephone number to call," Wright said in the affidavit filed Oct. 26, 2006. Wright then met with the FBI. "During my interview with the FBI agents I was told that they didn't want me, or Recio; they wanted Frank and what I could tell them about public corruption. I told them I was not aware of any public corruption with regards to Mayor Melton," Wright said. He ultimately backed out of plea deal negotiations.
Melton declined to comment.
FBI spokeswoman Deborah Madden said the FBI could not comment on an investigation. "The FBI cannot comment as to whether or not we have a pending investigation concerning any individual or entity, according to our established policy," Madden said.
The FBI investigation could focus on a number of different violations. Following his election, the mayor launched a blitz of police actionsall dutifully recorded by the local media. Melton led raids dressed like a police officer, sporting unlicensed firearms and a badge, conducting raids and searches in cars and houses without warrants. Although the mayor is not a law enforcement officer, he led raids and set up checkpoints, largely in West Jackson.
Jackson NAACP President Gus McCoy took issue with Melton's imitation of a police officer, complaining that Melton had conducted unconstitutional searches of both vehicles and people at roadblocks, gas stations and businesses.
"He's admitted himself that he's led raids. There's no question that he led a raid. He can call for any kind of interdiction that he wants, but for him to actually put a bullet-proof vest on and a badge on and go out on the site and say, 'I'm a police officer,' he can't do that," McCoy told the JFP Friday. "When you put yourself in that line of fire, and you're putting your hands on folks, and you're not an officer, what does that say? That you are your own law."
It is illegal for government officials to deprive people of their constitutional rights under "the color of law," as described in Title 18, Section 242 of the U.S. Code. That code specifically includes mayors among officials who can be charged with breaking the law, and it makes clear that the violations can be within the official's described duties or beyond them, as would be the case with Melton's law enforcement activities. The felony is punishable by fines and/or imprisonment for up to one year.
Melton may also have attracted the attention of federal authorities with the Ridgeway incident. A state jury found Melton not guilty, but that does not prevent the federal government from filing federal charges for civil rights violations.
When Judge Joe Webster heard the case, he excluded testimony about the mayor's possible drunkenness and erratic behavior on the night of the Ridgeway Street demolition. That same night, Melton and his entourage raided the Upper Level nightclub. Witnesses claim that police led club manager Tonari Moore out in handcuffs. A group of young men with Meltonsome of whom participated in the Ridgeway incident, witnesses saidthen allegedly beat Moore while he was in handcuffs, in police custody.
When an American Medical Response ambulance arrived, Melton allegedly jumped into the vehicle with Moore and accompanied him to the University Medical Center.
Witness accounts excluded from the Ridgeway trial described the smell of alcohol and Melton's apparent intoxication. They said that Melton harangued Moore even as he lay on a stretcher in the ambulance and later in his hospital room.
Attorney Sharon Gipson, who is representing Moore, called the mayor's tactics "terrorist acts" at a 2006 press conference and said they violated her client's civil rights. Gipson said Melton and police had been visiting the club prior to the Aug. 26 Upper Level beating, conducting searches without a warrant and harassing patrons.
The FBI could also be investigating possible felony violations of the Hobbs Act, which is used to combat racketeering and public corruption. Council members accused Melton of trying to illegally influence a recent Jackson Public Schools contract decision. If an investigation results in indictments and Melton is found guilty, he could face up to 20 years in prison.
Four council members claim Melton's Chief of Staff Marcus Ward tried to influence the selection of a company for the school district's enormous school bond contract. Ward allegedly threatened to pull JPS board Vice President Jonathan Larkin's re-nomination if Larkin did not favor Integrated Management Services over competitor Preferred Management. Larkin, the swing vote on the board, voted in favor of Preferred Management despite the alleged threat, and Melton pulled Larkin's nomination days later.
Ward has denied the allegations, and Melton has held firm on not submitting Larkin's name for another term. The mayor continues to press the council on a replacement for Larkin, but Ward 7 Councilwoman Margaret Barrett-Simonwho joined three other council members in alleging Ward's extortionrefuses to attend a confirmation vote that could change the make-up of the board. Without her vote, the council cannot gather enough members to hold a confirmation vote because Councilmen Ben Allen, Marshand Crisler and Leslie McLemore have all recused themselves due to conflicts of interest.
A June 13 Clarion-Ledger story reported that both Larkin and JPS board attorney David Watkins had confirmed that the FBI had contacted them, though both later claimed to the JFP that they had never made that confirmation.
"I've never confirmed that the FBI has spoken to me," Larkin said.
"I cannot confirm nor deny (talking to the FBI), because even if they had contacted me, I could not disclose that because I represent the school board and would need authority from the board to disclose it," Watkins told the JFP.
Other reasons for FBI inquiries could stem from potential violations of due process, which is protected by the Fifth Amendment.
Melton announced in May that he wanted to tear down A-1 Pallet company, a pallet recycling plant on 1000 Mill Street. Code Enforcement showed up at A-1 Pallet just days after Melton's announcement, searching for code violations, even though business owner Charlotte Reeves said the property had no code violations last year.
The city is apparently in a big hurry to remove the business. Weeks after noting violationsincluding a blocked fire lane and the presence of pigeonsthe city submitted a request to demolish A-1 Pallets to the Jackson Historic Preservation Commission, days ahead of A-1 Pallet owner Charlotte Reeves' scheduled appearance before the City Council on June 19 to argue her position.
When contacted, Reeves refused to confirm or deny that the FBI had contacted her, but she made clear she thought the FBI could have a case.
"I've said from the beginning that the city has committed constitutional violations against my company. They can't just arbitrarily decide to come in and tear down my business. My God, we pay our taxes. We pay our fees," Reeves said. "What's to stop the city from going after anybody if they have a mind to?
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