January 28, 2017

Official complaint sent to Cobb County Solicitor – Re; Marietta Schools/LaAmistadt et al 26 January 2017

Posted by D.A. King at 10:40 am - Email the author   Print This Post Print This Post  

 

 

 

Official complaint                                                                                                                                                                                                     26 January 2017

Complaint against
Marietta City Schools Superintendent, Dr. Grant Rivera

and

Marietta City Schools board members
Alan Levine, Jason Waters, Randy Weiner, Allison Gruehn, Jeriene Grimes, Irene Berens

and

Cat (Catrina) Decosta Mcafee, Executive Director, and Shirley Anne Cruz, Assistant Director (signer for), LaAmistad Inc. and the leadership of LaAmistad listed on the corporate website.

Re; OCGA 13-10-91

Mr. Morgan,

Please regard this as my official complaint and request for action.

To protect jobs for eligible workers, state law put in place in 2006 requires all public employers to verify that all of their contractors sign a notarized affidavit swearing that the contractor is using the federal E-Verify system. The “Contractor Affidavit and Agreement” is standardized by law to avoid confusion and the official model affidavit form is posted on the official website of the office of the Georgia Department of Audits and Accounts.

On the affidavit, the contractor – paid with tax dollars – is required to enter their unique federal E-Verify user number and date of authorization to use E-Verify from the USCIS so that there is a reduced chance of falsely claiming E-Verify user authority to obtain public contract work.

Violations:
*The contractor affidavit contained in a public records response to me on another matter clearly shows that there is no entry for the E-Verify user number.

*The affidavit has no entry for the date of E-Verify user authorization.

*The affidavit has been illegally presented and accepted without the required notarization.

*Marietta schools illegally accepted the improper contractor affidavit and then at a cost to city taxpayers of $10,000, illegally hired LaAmistad Inc. to conduct Adult education classes on public property for Marietta Schools. I note that this is also a violation of OCGA 50-36-1, as Adult Education is a public benefit under state law and that law is clear on documents to verify eligibility of recipients of public benefits. Marietta Schools cannot produce these documents. If needed, I will file separate complaint on that violation.

*Marietta Schools is using an illegal affidavit, as the form they are using is not the official model.

*It is very possible, even likely that LaAmistad is not actually authorized to use the E-Verify system. That can be easily checked through USCIS. If so, the seriousness of my complaint greatly increases. Please see OCGA 16-10-20, false swearing.

I respectfully note that according to the Marietta City Schools website, “BOARD OF EDUCATION DUTIES Enact policies that guide the operation of the system; Adopt programs of study and evaluate program effectiveness.” It’s the first one listed.

I am grateful for your consideration on this matter and I hope you will take action and forward information as needed to the Commissioner of Labor, the Cobb District Attorney, the Georgia Attorney General or any other office you know to be relevant in defending the law put in place to safeguard jobs, benefits, services and the rule of law in Georgia.

Below, I attach a small section of OCGA 13-10-91. Please see also OCGA 13-10-91.

OCGA 13-10-91 “(9) Any person who knowingly and willfully makes a false, fictitious, or fraudulent statement in an affidavit submitted pursuant to this subsection shall be guilty of a violation of Code Section 16-10-20 and, upon conviction, shall be punished as provided in such Code section. Contractors, subcontractors, sub-subcontractors, and any person convicted for false statements based on a violation of this subsection shall be prohibited from bidding on or entering into any public contract for 12 months following such conviction. A contractor, subcontractor, or sub-subcontractor that has been found by the Commissioner to have violated this subsection shall be listed by the Department of Labor on www.open.georgia.gov or other official website of the state with public information regarding such violation, including the identity of the violator, the nature of the contract, and the date of conviction. A public employee, contractor, subcontractor, or sub-subcontractor shall not be held civilly liable or criminally responsible for unknowingly or unintentionally accepting a bid from or contracting with a contractor, subcontractor, or sub-subcontractor acting in violation of this subsection. Any contractor, subcontractor, or sub-subcontractor found by the Commissioner to have violated this subsection shall, on a second or subsequent violations, be prohibited from bidding on or entering into any public contract for 12 months following the date of such finding.”

Respectfully submitted,

D.A. King

Marietta, Ga. 30066