Jail Design Firm Dumped over Federal Indictments

Second thoughts about the jail design firm lead Chatham County commissioners back to the drawing board on the $110 million project.

Chatham County commissioners are looking for someone else to oversee the design and construction of their $110 million jail expansion project after a vote today to dump the Facility Group in light of recent federal indictments against 3 of their officers. The company from the Atlanta area successfully bid to design the jail expansion to be paid for with Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax approved by voters in 2006.



Today's decision is related to recent federal indictments handed down against 3 of The Facility Group’s top executives.

-Robert L. Moultrie, 67, of Smyrna, Ga., chairman and chief executive officer of The Facility Group.



-Nixon E. Cawood, 58, of Woodstock, Ga., chief operating officer of The Facility Group.

-Charles K. Morehead, 57, of Lilburn, Ga., executive vice president of the Project Quality Control Management Group for The Facility Group.

Court records show each of the men was indicted on one count of conspiracy to defraud the United States. The other counts for each are on "frauds and swindles."

The federal action comes after a years-long investigation into a failed beef processing plant in Mississippi. Lawmakers there put up taxpayer money to guarantee a $35 million loan to build the massive “Mississippi Beef Processors” plant. After only a few months of operation, the plant closed and the owner defaulted on his loan and state taxpayers ended up paying $55 million.

The Facility Group was picked to manage the completion and design of the Beef Processors Plant. Prior to the federal indictments, the State of Mississippi filed suit against the company seeking to recover about $9 million in taxpayer money and subcontractor bills left unpaid by the company.

The state’s suit asks for unspecified punitive damages, recovery of any improper charges by the construction management firm and monies owed contractors and suppliers over and above the $6.56 million it promised to deliver the completed project for.

In the federal case, the execs are accused of scheming to give more than $5000 in political contributions to an unnamed lawmaker to “influence and reward the public official”

In 2006, the owner of the plant, Richard J. Hall Jr., pleaded guilty to taking public and corporate funds for his personal use. In 2007, another contractor, Sean Carothers, plead guilty to fraud related to the project.

All three of the Facility Group execs pleaded not guilty in their initial court appearances.

Sheriff Al St. Lawrence says this will delay the overall project by about three months. The design phase was expected to be done next year.