Friday, June 19, 2009

Two administrators arrested in CRCT cheating

This is a joke right? People arrested for cheating on school test? What is Gwen Fleming thinking?

Terrell Bolton has stolen thousands of dollars from the citizens of DeKalb County. He has falsified documents as it relates to his illegal comp time. He used seized vehicles for personal use against federal law. Bolton hired people and billed other cost centers besides the police department. He billed other cost centers for equipment. Terrell was not even in the state, but was visiting his family and was paid for it! Yet no indictments or arrest.

The Recorders Court has between 90 and 120 MILLION dollars unaccounted for and no criminal investigation!

This is just incomprehensible! The insane are running the asylum!

Click here for AJC story

16 comments:

Better DeKalb said...

I've had a short fuse all day today and realized a couple hours ago it was because of the CRCT cheating arrests, meanwhile some real felons run free.

If they are arresting people who cheat the system there should have been a much bigger round up.

Thanks to the blog once again for saying what the rest of us are feeling!!

Anonymous said...

While Dekalb burned Nero oops Gwen fiddled. Vern fer Gov the absurd is the norm. As a great officer once said at roll call "Lord help us"!

Anonymous said...

These guys are responsible for illegally obtaining government funds. The allegations go back to the last school year. They should be in jail. They knew the rules when it came to the "no child left behind" program and they did not have enough students pass the test. The school system sucks so they took it upon themselves to cheat the system.

Anonymous said...

If you have proof of any kind please present it to the proper authority so we can make more arrests. Otherwise keep your "opinions" to yourself. Making blanket statements from hearsay is useless.

nootkabear said...

"The insane are running the asylum!"

Touche'

Anonymous said...

I can't stand Bolton and what he has done to this department, but you can't just put someone in jail and prosecute them just based on all the rumors of what he did wrong. His hearing is not even complete. How can you expect the DA to go after him when he has not even been completely let go from the department. Don't you think that all the evidence needs to be heard first at the hearing before you start accussing the DA of not doing her job. And on top of that, How do you know they aren't investigating him already?

Anonymous said...

Is it just me, or do any of you think government employees and especially our elected officials seem to be less ethical or more corrupt with every passing year? And it's not just local either, Great Britian is reeling from the disclosures that many of their elected officials have been making bogus expense claims for years for some good sized bucks, say 20 grand for just one expense item. In the states, our federal politicians are allowed huge office budgets that cover a variety of material and personell whose only purpose is to get the official reelected.
DeKalb has a pretty tough drug testing policy. Guess what? That policy specifically excludes elected officials and staffs. That might explain some of the actions of our commissioners and CEO over the years.
The obvious question is why do our politicians write a tough drug policy that has gotten many an otherwise good employee fired or denied employment and deliberately exempt themselves and staff from the same policy? This is unethical and deserves attention.
I have noticed over the last months that Gwen and the DA's office has been concerned with DeKalb School issues. The DA's office issued a report a month ago exonerating charges that the school official allowed a child to be bullied by his peers till he committed suicide.
Now we have this CRCT cheating scandal which to many of us seemed to be adequately handled and disciplined by the school board. The people involved have lost their jobs and pensions, which to me seems adequate punishment for their unethical behavior. I doubt if any other school officials will be tempted to change answers on a CRCT test again.
Apparently most of us do not see the "big picture" like Gwen does. We fail to understand why two school officials are being prosecuted whilst major ethical violations by DeKalb elected officials and their appointees are ignored by the DA's office. If someone from the DA's office could explain their priorities and the logic behind them it would be greatly appreciated.

Anonymous said...

I heard where a County Water Dept. employee was arrested for using a county owned bulldozer at his personal residence. Anyone know anything on this story?

Anonymous said...

Gwen Keyes is doing the right thing by persuing the cheating scandal case.

Instead of complaining, you should be jumping up and down for joy.

Do you think Bolton slept well when he heard the DA's office is purusing a false statement case against a principal in a cheating scandal.

And as far as Bolton's case goes, it would not suprise anyone if the S.O. really screwed the case up. Think about it.

Did they read Bolton his rights or did they read him Garrity?

Why make Bolton a target of a criminal investigation when employment hearings are forth coming. Let Bolton make as many statements as possible on record and not only him but Vernon and the rest of the crew as well.

Didn't Vernon show up at the hearing with Dwight Thomas, a criminal defense attorney. That says a lot of what might be to come.

Remember, pour the drink after you update the blog.

Anonymous said...

I'll agree that S.O. probably didn't do the best job investigating Bolton. As far as questioning him goes, it's irrelevant. You don't need his statement to convict him of anything. There's a long enough paper trail and enough witnesses to everything that you don't need his statement.

I don't think people are upset that Gwen is going after the cheaters at the schools. People are extremely frustrated that while she is going after people cheating on tests, she is completely ignoring the blatant criminal activity of Bolton and at Recorder's Court. Of course Gwen needs to pursue criminal charges against the school administrators if they were committing crimes. I am not making light of the crimes, but really, the principals changed some answers so our schools will get more of our tax dollars. Yes, they broke the law and should be prosecuted. But what about Recorder's Court, where almost $100 million is missing?? What about Bolton??

If Gwen were a police officer, she'd be writing parking tickets while a bank is being robbed right behind her.

Anonymous said...

To anon9, the CRCT scandal is settled. The employees have been fired and no other punishment is neccessary except to make PR points with DeKalb citizens. What we need is multiple grand juries looking into waste and inefficency in DeKalb government to say nothing of Bolton who anyone with half a brain knows he needs a major investigation. Gwen is wasting resources on beating a dead horse instead of leading the county out of the mess created by Vern. I will catch up with y'all next week. I post too much for many on this blog.

Anonymous said...

To Better Dekalb said... 1st posting, you sound like a perp that just got arrested for a county ordinance or simple traffic violation, The citizen says, WHY ARE YOU BOTHERING ME, WHEN ALL THE OTHER SERIOUS CRIMINALS ARE COMMITTING MUCH BIGGER CRIMES? If you have pc to make an arrest on Bolton or any other person, then take a warrant, there is a much larger picture when dealing with dirty cops or politicians. Be patient grass hopper, the masters are working.

Anonymous said...

I'm tired of being patient with this pathetic excuse of a DA's office we have.

They are lazy and have failed to prosecute hundreds if not thousands of individuals. If you have worked in this county more than two years, you are no doubt frustrated that you keep rearresting the same people for the same stuff over and over again, only to have our worthless DA's office not bring stuff before the grand jury, or otherwise fail to prosecute. If someone is indicted, they will most likely get probation that will never be enforced, even when the perp gets arrested for doing the same thing a few months later.

I'd love for someone from the DA's office to try to dispute this FACT.

Cerebration said...

Gee guys - so glad you're concerned about school issues! Feel free to join in our school discussions at
http://dekalbschoolwatch.blogspot.com/

FWIW -- Gwen Keys is apparently investigating the cheating scandal. The principal has apparently admitted wrongdoing. Possibly the asst principal as well. They will most likely lose their licenses, as this is a severe ethics violation. Also, they may have violated state law by tampering with official documents. We'll see.

Keyes also poked her head in on the bullying situation, however, a former judge was hired by the school system (at $350/hour) and issued a verbal (not written) report stating that she saw no evidence of bullying. Case closed. I can't imagine Gwen Keyes going against this retired judge, as this judge is very well respected and powerful.

In addition - Waaaay back in December, Keyes office conducted an 'investigation' into our (very effective and highly qualified) head of construction, CEO Pat Pope. Keyes people stormed Pope's office and confiscated her computers. Dr Lewis said that the results would be made public in a week. (Did I mention that this was in December?) We have no idea what ever became of that - other than to stain Pope's reputation and create a stir and suspicion.

So yes, Gwen Keyes seems to investigate DCSS at every corner. Truly, I don't remember J Tom Morgan ever doing anything similar. In fact, he advocates for kids - speaking to parents and teens regarding the law and distributing copies of his book, "Ignorance is No Excuse" so that kids can be informed as to what exactly is illegal - before you guys get a hold of them!

Thanks for all you do for the citizens of DeKalb - whoever it was that gave my 16 year old son a speeding ticket - you scared the cr*p out of him -- thanks!!

Anonymous said...

I really don't understand the nonsequitur logic here.

Because TB and other's are costing Dekalb money we should ignore other, albeit non-violent, crimes? What?

These people are putting students at risk by possibly squandering millions in education dollars.

Seems pretty serious to me.

And let's face it, these kids in 8 to 10 years will be either productive members of society or the same people you'll have to deal with weekly on the streets. Their education has a lot to do with which path they'll follow.

Anonymous said...

I'm so sorry that I'm late on this post but I could not resist. Where was Gweny when the judge was giving "double murder" Yancey a bond. Why wasnt she up in arms over that. The DA's Office is a joke now. With all the murders, dope pushers,etc.. being freed all day every day, it seems to me that she would be putting more focus on that. Instead of a Principal cheating on a test. Get a life Gweny.