On October 14, 2022, a federal jury convicted the former City of Atlanta Commissioner of Watershed Management, Jo Ann Macrina, of conspiracy and federal program bribery for accepting bribes from an Atlanta contractor in exchange for steering city business worth millions of dollars to the contractor’s company. On February 24, 2023 the Department of Justice announced that Macrina was sentenced to four and a half years in prison.
According to court documents and U.S. Attorney Buchanan, during Macrina’s tenure, from 2011 through May 2016, the City of Atlanta awarded millions of dollars in contracts to an architectural, design, and construction management and services firm based in Atlanta. Macrina purportedly took multiple steps to steer lucrative contracts toward the firm’s joint venture, including “casting aside prior final scores ranking potential vendors where the joint venture ranked near the bottom, replacing two evaluators who previously represented the Department of Watershed Management with herself and Macrina’s employee, and scoring the joint venture higher than all other evaluators during a reevaluation.” Prosecutors also accused Macrina of providing the firm’s executive vice president with access to confidential information. In exchange for the information and special treatment, the firm gifted Macrina cash, a diamond ring, a room at a luxury hotel in Dubai, landscaping work at her home, and ultimately, a job with the firm, which she accepted.
U.S. District Judge Steve C. Jones sentenced Macrina, 66, to four years and six months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release, and $40,000 in restitution.
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