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Ramey charges have long history
By Blake Spurney Editor
The indictment handed down Sept. 3 against Mayor Tom Ramey Sr. came at the end of a long campaign spawned by a political feud spanning more than two years.
And it shows no signs of abating.
Ramey faces two counts of violation of oath of office, a felony, for asking a city worker to purchase a set of tires for his wife's car and for "creating the appearance of using public office for private gain" by purchasing a tract of land that lies within the service area of a sewer line replacement project. Both counts appear to be on shaky legal ground, according to experts.
How the allegations against Ramey ended up being heard by a grand jury have their own sordid history.
District Attorney Brian Rickman received a call from Clayton City Attorney Davis Bauman shortly after his Jan. 2 appointment to the office by Gov. Sonny Perdue. Bauman asked Rickman if he had had a chance to review the file Bauman had sent to his predecessor, Mike Crawford.
"My best recollection is I couldn't find the stuff," Rickman said. "I couldn't lay my hands on it here (in Clarkesville). It turned out it was in the Rabun office. He then sent me another copy of the information down to the Habersham office."
Clayton City Council passed a resolution Feb. 12 asking Rickman's office to investigate whether Ramey or his family had stolen water from the city at two apartment complexes they own, Stave Mill and Laurel Falls. Ramey and council have been involved in the water dispute since city employees discovered in July 2007 that a water meter had gone unread for years.
Ramey claims the city owes him for $29,000 for damage to a building caused by a water leak. Council offered to settle the dispute in January for $32,200, and Ramey made a $7,600 counteroffer through his lawyer. Council eventually passed the resolution, and the water dispute remains unresolved.
Rickman disqualified his office from involvement because Horace Ramey, the mayor's son, had called Rickman about the matter when he was in private practice. Rickman also represented his aunt, Brenda Cook, in a sexual harassment claim against the mayor in January 2007.
Rickman referred the case to Attorney General Thurbert Baker, who appointed David Fowler, deputy director with legal services for the Prosecuting Attorneys' Council of Georgia, in May. Fowler wrote the city a letter in August saying he found no evidence of a crime regarding the alleged theft of water, the specific target of council's resolution.
Meanwhile, Fowler continued his investigation into other allegations of misconduct against Ramey that were part of the thick file sent to him. He presented his findings to grand jurors.
Well before that point, however, Bauman had requested former assistant district attorney Bob Cullifer, who left the position when he was appointed juvenile judge at the beginning of 2007, to investigate allegations against Ramey. Cullifer said he referred the matter to Crawford "because he's an elected official. It involved an elected official, so he needed to make that call."
Crawford said he discussed conducting an investigation with Bauman. "It seemed like there were two or three things they were dealing with," Crawford said.
Cullifer's replacement, Tricia Leeman, also was asked by Bauman multiple times to bring charges against Ramey during her tenure, which ended last October. "I was approached by him on more than one occasion and in various venues," she said.
Leeman also referred the matter to Crawford, who directed her to contact the Georgia Bureau of Investigation. John Cagle, former special agent in charge of the regional GBI office in Cleveland, said he received a call about Ramey from a lawyer whose name he couldn't recall. He received a packet like the one sent to Crawford, Rickman and Fowler before he referred it back to the district attorney's office.
"I know copies were mailed to the AG's office by whoever mailed it to me for them to review it as well," said Cagle, now a major with the Dawson County Sheriff's Office.
Bauman also sent a letter to Cagle in July 2007 citing a list of Ramey's questionable financial dealings. He asked for an investigation of the transactions and claimed the district attorney's office had requested an investigation. Leeman said at the time she was unaware of any such request. Around that time, council also stripped Ramey of his power to write checks on the city account.
Leeman said Cagle informed her that the GBI would not be seeking any criminal charges against Ramey.
"I was told by Mr. Cagle that it seemed to be a purely political matter, and as such, I didn't pursue it," she said.
Meanwhile, lawyer Mike Cummings said he obtained documents, via open records requests, concerning Ramey's actions. He sent the packet to the governor on behalf of a group of clients he declined to identify. The information involved a "potential oath of office violation and crimes."
Cummings said he and his clients were interested in having someone outside the city look into the matter. They met with representatives of Perdue who told them the governor couldn't take action against Ramey unless he was indicted.
Bert Brantley, Perdue's spokesman, said the governor's office received a copy of the indictment Sept. 8. A member of Perdue's staff had been monitoring the case "in case we got to a point where we got involved," he said.
Perdue's office will decide next week whether to appoint a committee composed of two mayors and the attorney general's office. The committee would decide whether the indictment would adversely affect Ramey's office and its ability to govern. If so, Ramey could be suspended until the charges are resolved.
"There's certainly no automatic assumption of guilt in the event of an indictment," Brantley said.
Rickman has had a unique perspective in watching the drama unfold, both as a prosecutor and private lawyer. His representation of Cook exposed him to city employees playing both sides of the feud between Ramey and Bauman.
"It's like high school," he said.
Rickman said Cook sought his counsel because "the whole situation was spinning out of control." City Hall was rampant with conflict, and people on both sides were trying to use Cook as a pawn. Whether she was the victim of sexual harassment and, if so, what should be done about it seemed to get lost amid the cacophony of gossip.
Rickman said he met with Bauman to discuss the situation, and an agreement was reached where she would leave her job with two months pay. "Davis was professional to me as it related to Brenda Cook," he said.
However, employees who were in Cook's corner providing comfort turned nasty when she declined to file a lawsuit. Fliers were put on vehicles at the recreation department calling her a traitor and worse.
Rickman said he's convinced people in City Hall know where the fliers came from.
"Ridiculous, juvenile stuff," he said.
And it shows no signs of abating.
Ramey faces two counts of violation of oath of office, a felony, for asking a city worker to purchase a set of tires for his wife's car and for "creating the appearance of using public office for private gain" by purchasing a tract of land that lies within the service area of a sewer line replacement project. Both counts appear to be on shaky legal ground, according to experts.
How the allegations against Ramey ended up being heard by a grand jury have their own sordid history.
District Attorney Brian Rickman received a call from Clayton City Attorney Davis Bauman shortly after his Jan. 2 appointment to the office by Gov. Sonny Perdue. Bauman asked Rickman if he had had a chance to review the file Bauman had sent to his predecessor, Mike Crawford.
"My best recollection is I couldn't find the stuff," Rickman said. "I couldn't lay my hands on it here (in Clarkesville). It turned out it was in the Rabun office. He then sent me another copy of the information down to the Habersham office."
Clayton City Council passed a resolution Feb. 12 asking Rickman's office to investigate whether Ramey or his family had stolen water from the city at two apartment complexes they own, Stave Mill and Laurel Falls. Ramey and council have been involved in the water dispute since city employees discovered in July 2007 that a water meter had gone unread for years.
Ramey claims the city owes him for $29,000 for damage to a building caused by a water leak. Council offered to settle the dispute in January for $32,200, and Ramey made a $7,600 counteroffer through his lawyer. Council eventually passed the resolution, and the water dispute remains unresolved.
Rickman disqualified his office from involvement because Horace Ramey, the mayor's son, had called Rickman about the matter when he was in private practice. Rickman also represented his aunt, Brenda Cook, in a sexual harassment claim against the mayor in January 2007.
Rickman referred the case to Attorney General Thurbert Baker, who appointed David Fowler, deputy director with legal services for the Prosecuting Attorneys' Council of Georgia, in May. Fowler wrote the city a letter in August saying he found no evidence of a crime regarding the alleged theft of water, the specific target of council's resolution.
Meanwhile, Fowler continued his investigation into other allegations of misconduct against Ramey that were part of the thick file sent to him. He presented his findings to grand jurors.
Well before that point, however, Bauman had requested former assistant district attorney Bob Cullifer, who left the position when he was appointed juvenile judge at the beginning of 2007, to investigate allegations against Ramey. Cullifer said he referred the matter to Crawford "because he's an elected official. It involved an elected official, so he needed to make that call."
Crawford said he discussed conducting an investigation with Bauman. "It seemed like there were two or three things they were dealing with," Crawford said.
Cullifer's replacement, Tricia Leeman, also was asked by Bauman multiple times to bring charges against Ramey during her tenure, which ended last October. "I was approached by him on more than one occasion and in various venues," she said.
Leeman also referred the matter to Crawford, who directed her to contact the Georgia Bureau of Investigation. John Cagle, former special agent in charge of the regional GBI office in Cleveland, said he received a call about Ramey from a lawyer whose name he couldn't recall. He received a packet like the one sent to Crawford, Rickman and Fowler before he referred it back to the district attorney's office.
"I know copies were mailed to the AG's office by whoever mailed it to me for them to review it as well," said Cagle, now a major with the Dawson County Sheriff's Office.
Bauman also sent a letter to Cagle in July 2007 citing a list of Ramey's questionable financial dealings. He asked for an investigation of the transactions and claimed the district attorney's office had requested an investigation. Leeman said at the time she was unaware of any such request. Around that time, council also stripped Ramey of his power to write checks on the city account.
Leeman said Cagle informed her that the GBI would not be seeking any criminal charges against Ramey.
"I was told by Mr. Cagle that it seemed to be a purely political matter, and as such, I didn't pursue it," she said.
Meanwhile, lawyer Mike Cummings said he obtained documents, via open records requests, concerning Ramey's actions. He sent the packet to the governor on behalf of a group of clients he declined to identify. The information involved a "potential oath of office violation and crimes."
Cummings said he and his clients were interested in having someone outside the city look into the matter. They met with representatives of Perdue who told them the governor couldn't take action against Ramey unless he was indicted.
Bert Brantley, Perdue's spokesman, said the governor's office received a copy of the indictment Sept. 8. A member of Perdue's staff had been monitoring the case "in case we got to a point where we got involved," he said.
Perdue's office will decide next week whether to appoint a committee composed of two mayors and the attorney general's office. The committee would decide whether the indictment would adversely affect Ramey's office and its ability to govern. If so, Ramey could be suspended until the charges are resolved.
"There's certainly no automatic assumption of guilt in the event of an indictment," Brantley said.
Rickman has had a unique perspective in watching the drama unfold, both as a prosecutor and private lawyer. His representation of Cook exposed him to city employees playing both sides of the feud between Ramey and Bauman.
"It's like high school," he said.
Rickman said Cook sought his counsel because "the whole situation was spinning out of control." City Hall was rampant with conflict, and people on both sides were trying to use Cook as a pawn. Whether she was the victim of sexual harassment and, if so, what should be done about it seemed to get lost amid the cacophony of gossip.
Rickman said he met with Bauman to discuss the situation, and an agreement was reached where she would leave her job with two months pay. "Davis was professional to me as it related to Brenda Cook," he said.
However, employees who were in Cook's corner providing comfort turned nasty when she declined to file a lawsuit. Fliers were put on vehicles at the recreation department calling her a traitor and worse.
Rickman said he's convinced people in City Hall know where the fliers came from.
"Ridiculous, juvenile stuff," he said.
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Reader Comments
The following are comments from the readers. In no way do they represent the view of theclaytontribune.com.
john wrote on Sep 19, 2008 12:49 PM:
" Should have changed the name to Ramey County. It seems as though he runs the whole town. He has people in high places that he has bought, and I am sure he is looking for a way out now. Just wondering how is he going to do it since he does not have check signing authority anymore. "
richard wrote on Sep 19, 2008 4:36 PM:
" I voted for Tom Ramey for mayor not Bauman. He did a good job before as mayor. This is a disgrace! Bauman should be thrown out of town. "
Clayton wrote on Sep 20, 2008 11:48 AM:
" I posted a factual comment on this story the day it came out; you chose not to post it. It shows me what side of the fence the Tribune resides on when it comes to Mr. Ramey. Between that and your other comments in the Tribune, it is no wonder that the trouble stays stirred up. With your continued support of someone with a long history of being hellbent on doing what he wants when he wants no matter the rules or consequences, the citizens of Clayton will never have any peace nor benefit from good government. "
alan wrote on Sep 22, 2008 4:45 PM:
" The problem with this town is jealousy! I have been here all my life and Billy Graham could be mayor and no one would be satisfied. Mayor ramey is capable of running this city; he did it before. But not when the council is uncooperative, and the city attorney is out to get him. It's time to grow up. "
Clayton wrote on Sep 22, 2008 7:34 PM:
" That is a very good question. Who IS voting for Mr. Ramey? I failed to note that there are some very good citizens on the council. I cannot imagine that this whole mess is a "personality conflict" between them and the mayor. Since he doesn't seem inclined to resign, and he does have the ability to straigten out come of the city's problems - most specifically the water problems if he can keep himself honest - I would suggest that everyone involved meet in the middle, bury the hatchet and get about doing the jobs you were elected to do. If the main point of contention is who the city attorney is, then for goodness sake get another one - there's a lawyer on every corner of Rabun County - surely he can be replaced. If you didn't have an expense turn-in policy in place before he turned in his, it does not make sense to enact one afterward and then refuse to pay him. I doubt his figures are accurate and he took advantage of the lapse in council's planning. It is surprising that so many checks and balances were found to have not been in place before he took office again. Hopefully, the council is finding all the loopholes he can attempt to crawl through and fixing them before he finds them. "
Clay wrote on Sep 25, 2008 7:25 PM:
" I've been watching this story unfold for the last two years. I live in Florida. I love the Clayton area, always have, always will. To an outsider looking in, it appears that Tom Ramey Sr. is one of the biggest political crooks to come ya'lls way in a long time. We got 'em down here too. Good luck and get rid of him. "
Clayton wrote on Sep 18, 2008 10:01 AM: