Fulton County District Attorney’s Office Quiet On RICO Expert
Officials with the Fulton County district attorney’s office wouldn’t confirm or deny an Atlanta Journal Constitution report that district attorney Paul Howard has hired attorney John Floyd.
Floyd will reportedly work on the ongoing investigation into the Atlanta Public Schools.
If true, there’s a pretty good reason as to why John Floyd would be retained by Fulton County DA Paul Howard.
“Well it tells me that the DA is trying very hard to find something to pursue,” says WABE legal analyst Page Pate.
According to Pate, Floyd is highly regarded in RICO cases.
Claims against APS educators implicated in the state’s investigation include changing answers on the 2009 CRCT exam, giving students’ answers, as well as testimony about an APS culture of intimidation.
Still, Page Pate says if the probe is focusing on RICO charges, a pattern of illegal activities and you have to show some sort of coordination of that patter and you have to show that it really affected the business of education itself.”
A RICO charge is most effective, says Pate, to show criminal conduct in trying to cover up crimes.
He adds the district attorney’s office could be looking higher up the chain of command than just principals and teachers, “you’re really focusing on how the school system is operating, who’s managing, how they’re running it and you’re alleging in an indictment like this that they’re doing it in a criminal ways.”
Allegations of a criminal way can be found in the state’s report.
A teacher from Slater elementary told investigators she believed APS was like an “organized crime family” because APS has a way of making things disappear.
In an email to WABE, Fulton County DA spokesperson Yvette Jones responded with a “no comment” about Floyd’s role in the investigation.
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