Jackson Jambalaya

Special Chancellor Larry Buffington ordered Hinds County to turn over to Jackson Jambalaya a copy of the settlement agreement between the county and Motorola. Hinds County sued Motorola in 2009 for damages. Hinds County claimed Motorola allowed Ridgeland and Madison to "bootleg" off of the radio system.*  The case settled for an undisclosed amount in 2011. It is not known how much money Hinds County or its attorney, Precious Martin, received in the settlement agreement. Attorney Curt Crowley represented Jackson Jambalaya.

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Check out how Afa and Sika played when they appointed replacement supervisors for Districts 2 and 4 to the Hinds County Board of Supervisors in this video.  The two pulled the item from the agenda and moved it up to the beginning of the meeting.  The agenda is posted below.  What you see in the video took place right after the public hearing section on the agenda. All you need to see is the first two minutes of the video.

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Update: Exhibits containing time records and other evidence provided by AG are published at bottom of this post. Grahams attorney responds to the Jackson Free Press in this interview. Her mantra is "Let the jury decide."

Original post on 2-29-12
Attorney General Jim Hood and State Auditor Stacey Pickering filed suit accused Hinds County Supervisor Robert Graham of fraud in a lawsuit filed yesterday in Hinds County Circuit Court. Mr. Graham is the President of the Board of Supervisors and owner of Professional Dispatch Management. The company provides training in 911 services. Mr. Graham was a dispatcher and spokesman for the Jackson Police Department until 2006.

The complaint charges Mr. Graham with using the city to copy Professional Dispatch training manuals. It is alleged Mr. Graham claimed they were used to teach classes for JPD personnel when in reality he was copying them for is own company. The company also used JPD to purchase 25 manuals for his business. Only 12 of the students who used those manuals were JPD employees. It alleges the rest of the students were not employees of the city of Jackson. The complaint does not stop with training manuals but also claims Mr. Graham taught classes for his company while "on the clock" for the city of Jackson. The AG and Auditor provided several exhibits composed of dozens of pages of time sheets and payroll records.

The complaint charges Mr. Graham with using "fraud and false representation" to defraud the city of Jackson to benefit himself and Professional Dispatch Management. The state claims he is personally liable for the repayment of the money and the investigation expenses. Mr. Pickering made a formal demand on May 25, 2011 for repayment. No repayment has been made. The suit asks for $23,818 to be repaid to Jackson, $10,008 in interest, and investigation costs of $11,909. The total amount claimed is $45,736. it should be pointed out this is a civil suit, not a criminal complaint.

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The Northside Sun reported Roger Davis was arrested at a precinct he supervised after Supervisor and former opponent Robert Graham showed up accompanied by a Hinds County Deputy:

"A poll worker ended up in a squad car after trying to enforce election laws and keep Hinds County District One Supervisor Robert Graham from influencing voters at a North Jackson polling place.

Roger Davis, co-manager of precincts 80A and 80B at the Tougaloo Community Center, called the Hinds County Sheriff’s Department on the afternoon of November 8, after Graham and one of his associates initially refused to stop campaigning there.

In fact, Graham and a man who was referred to as Sturgis, threatened Davis with bodily harm for attempting to uphold state law, according to Davis. The Sun has been unable to find out Sturgis’ first name.

“Sturgis flipped me off and said, ‘(Expletive) you, honky,” Davis said. “(Graham) told me ‘I’ll kick your a--.’ ”

But when the deputy, Cpt. Nate Ross, arrived on the scene, Davis, not Graham, was arrested." Rest of the story

I can attest Mr. Davis sent me a text message that night stating Mr. Graham told him he would kick his ass and he was arrested. Nice. I wonder how much of a bad-ass Mr. Graham is without his goon standing next to him. If Mr. Davis has witnesses, he should file charges against the deputy if any apply. Seems there might be a Section 1983 action available as well although you lawyers can correct me if I'm wrong.

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The Hinds County Board of Supervisors met yesterday to discuss a proposed bond issue for the Byram-Clinton corridor project. More will be posted about the meeting later but there was an interesting exchange at 2:30 in the video below. Supervisor Hobson-Calhoun recommended Mr. Norwood (at the podium) to the board for consideration as the financial adviser. Supervisor Phil Fisher asked him some basic questions as he was not familiar with his resume. Supervisor Graham took great offense when Mr. Fisher asked if he was related to anyone on the board (He answered "no".). Mr. Graham said the question was out of order and appeared agitated. Here is the video:

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Charles Carter accused Hinds County Supervisor Robert Graham of fraud at a press conference in front of Jackson City Hall Monday. Mr. Carter is the President of the National Emergency Communications Institute. NECI provides 911 certification courses to first responders nationwide. WLBT, Fox40, and the Clarion-Ledger were present. Mr. Carter issued a press release that is posted below.

Mr. Carter alleged Mr. Graham was authorized to provide NECI courses and 911 certifications in Mississippi. Mr. Graham was required to use NECI training manuals and materials to issue such certifications. Mr. Carter said Mr. Graham instead took manuals from another company not certified in Mississippi, inserted some of his own material, and passed it off as his own instead of ordering manuals from NECI. He then alleged Mr. Graham then provided NECI certifications even though he did not use NECI training manuals. Mr. Graham would charge $495 for the course and was supposed to forward $95 to NECI. The agencies reimbursed their employees the $495 fee upon completion of the course. Mr. Carter said few manuals were ordered from NECI while many NECI certifications were provided by Mr. Graham.

Mr. Carter claimed the certifications were not valid and the state made the decision to recognize them anyway. Mr. Carter argued such recognition violated the law. Mr. Carter said he visited Jackson to meet with an unnamed agency and seek prosecution of Mr. Graham for the alleged fraud. Mr. Carter claimed the fraud took place from 1995 to 2006 and he has been pursuing charges against Mr. Graham since he discovered the alleged fraud in 2006.

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The Motorola lawsuit filed by Hinds County several years ago has been the subject of much controversy and media coverage. However, media coverage does not mean media scrutiny as there has been little reporting about the lawsuit itself, much less any analysis (I must disclose that this website is engaged in litigation against Hinds County and Motorola over the settlement agreement of the lawsuit as the two parties attempt to hide it from public view.). The case is important as Hinds received $1.5 million from the settlement while neighboring law enforcement agencies are once again unable to communicate with Hinds County and JPD.

Supervisor Robert Graham moved at a board meeting in 2008 to have Brown Communications "audit" the county radio system. Then-Brown employees Stacy Stowers and Nathan Hargrove examined the system and issued their report only eleven days later at a speed that can only be labeled as a model in private-sector efficiency. The report claimed Madison, Ridgeland, and other agencies were "bootlegging" off of the system. The Jackson Free Press reported in August 2008:

"Hinds County Supervisor Robert Graham said a preliminary audit suggests the cities of Madison and Ridgeland have been bootlegging Hinds County’s 800 MHz Motorola digital radio system with the help of a former Hinds County employee. The audit, conducted by Browns Communication of Jackson, also suggests the unauthorized users have passed Hinds County’s system key along to other vendors, who are also using it without Hinds County Board of Supervisors’ approval." Article

The Supervisors subsequently retained the husband of the board attorney on a contingency fee basis to sue Motorola for damages. Attorney Precious Martin asked for $15 million in damages from Motorola in a demand letter. Motorola did not comply with his demands and the county filed suit. The case settled earlier this year for an undisclosed amount after going to trial for two days. Such action probably boosted Mr. Martin's level of pay to 40% of the settlement and expenses. Several stories reported Hinds County received $1.5 million from the lawsuit as the amount appeared in the county ledger. The case was assigned to Hinds County Circuit Judge Winston Kidd. The jury was selected (11 black jurors, one white juror) and seated when Motorola settled the case. However, it is still unknown how much Mr. Martin was paid or what the terms of the settlement were.

Hinds County filed suit against Motorola, John Wilson, Bill Roberts, and several John Does on February 5, 2009. John Wilson was a Captain in the Hinds County Sheriff's Office for over twenty years and is now in the employ of Motorola. Bill Roberts was a Motorola sales agent. The lawsuit claimed Motorola conspired with Wilson and surrounding local governments to give those governments access to Hinds County's radio system and equipment. Hinds also claimed Motorola lied to the board about the need for upgrades in order to increase sales to the county. Hinds County argues it never intended for anyone to have a system key (fancy name for the password) to its radio system and it never authorized anyone to give such access.

The lawsuit charged the defendants with counts of fraudulent misrepresentation or omission, trespass, negligence, fraudulent deceit, breach of contract, intentional mismanagement, civil conspiracy, and breach of fiduciary duty. Oddly enough, Hinds County did not include Madison or Ridgeland as defendants. Odd if they are the ones who were allegedly stealing from Hinds County. Motorola answered on March 16, 2009 and predictably denied the allegations.

JJ examined the court records, talked to numerous individuals involved in the controversy, and has a pretty good idea of what took place. A major problem in metro area law enforcement has been in the area of communications. Specifically, Hinds County has always operated a radio system that can not communicate with other agencies. If police from other areas are in pursuit of suspects, they can not notify JPD or HCSO they are coming into their jurisdictions. If a disaster happens in Hinds County, first responders from other areas will have radio equipment that does not work in Hinds County. If JPD is in pursuit of a suspect into another county, they can't talk to the local police department for support.

Although the inability to communicate has been the subject of much controversy for many years, nothing was done until 2006 when the FCC decreed Sprint/Nextel had to re-band the 800 MHZ frequency. JJ obtained through public records requests copies of numerous emails, letters, and proposals between the parties that are posted below.

Madison and Ridgeland made a formal agreement with Hinds County through Captain John Wilson (See the first document posted below). Agreements were signed. Votes were taken. Captain Wilson negotiated with Motorola on behalf of Hinds, Madison, and Ridgeland.A letter from Madison Police Chief Waldrup to the Mayor and Aldermen states "The FCC has ordered Sprint/Nextel to update agency's radio equipment and/or relocate agency frequencies that will not convert to the reassigned frequencies." The letter also states the control panel for the "new interoperable system is located in Hinds County." Chief Waldrup then requested authorization be given to Captain Wilson to negotiate for the city.

Captain Wilson was the leading communications expert for Hinds County and was tasked to work under Hinds County EOC Director Larry Fisher. Mayor Mary Hawkins-Butler issued a letter on May 30, 2006 approving the request and cc'ed Hinds EOC Director Larry Fisher. Madison spent $1.24 million (see documents below) on the new equipment. Ridgeland passed a similar resolution. Did everyone get that? Captain John Wilson of Hinds County negotiated with Motorola on behalf of Hinds County, Madison, and Ridgeland with Motorola. Does this sound like "bootlegging"?

The problem is there was no memorandum of understanding between the governments nor was there a vote by the Hinds County Board of Supervisors recorded in the minutes. Just because there was no MOU or vote taken does not mean the Board was not aware of the project. The minutes from July 18, 2005 state on page 3: "

"Mr. Larry Fisher, Emergency Management Director, updated the Board on communication equipment for the City of Jackson... They discussed moving forward with this endeavor and anticipate this has been brought before the Board in the near future. This will enable public safety communication between Hinds, Rankin, Madison, and Warren Counties. There was discussion on this matter, no action was taken."

Mr. Fisher told this correspondent he and Captain Wilson told the Board about the project. Mr. Fisher said he told the Supervisors they were working with Madison, Ridgeland, and other agencies to have a compatible system and it would not cost the county any money. He said Supervisor Doug Anderson said if that was the case, they did not need to take a vote so none was taken. Such claims would explain why Motorola sought copies of the audio recordings of the meetings (and why Hinds sought to exclude them if they existed.).

Mr. Fisher also disputed the audit's findings as he said there was no cost to the system to allow other agencies to use it. He said the towers would operate regardless of who used them while there was a need for law enforcement agencies to have the ability to communicate across county lines. It should be noted Hinds County did not include Mr. Fisher's deposition in any part of the court file.

Mr. Fisher DID send a letter to then-Mayor Frank Melton that stated Hinds, Jackson, UMC, AMR, Clinton, Vicksburg, Madison, Ridgeland, Warren County, and Rankin County would all be using the same system (See exhibit below). Captain Wilson stated in his affidavit (See second document posted below) Board President Charles Barbour and other Supervisors were briefed on the matter. Captain Wilson said he was authorized by Mr. Fisher and Sheriff Malcolm McMillin to create a system where first responders "could communicate with each other." However, Sheriff McMillin denied giving him such authority in his affidavit.

Motorola filed a motion to disqualify attorney Precious Martin. It is rather interesting reading and mentions the "Waffle House meeting". Copy of motion. Motorola also filed a motion seeking a change of venue. Hinds filed its own motions to exclude evidence on the Byram police radio controversy and allegations Stowers and Hargrove stole from Brown Communications. However, the case settled before any of these were adjudicated. Motorola has filed a request for a protective order sealing the case.


Editorial comment: What do I think happened? The inability of surrounding first responders and law enforcement agencies to communicate with those on Hinds County's radio system has been a HUGE problem for years. I think several Hinds officials such as Mr. Fisher and Captain Wilson as well as some Supervisors realized this and decided to fix the problem. There were negotiations, signed agreements and the like. What did NOT take place was a board vote or a memorandum of understanding between the different governments but since Mr. Fisher told the board there were no extra costs, its understandable they would not vote on the matter.

Mr. Graham comes into office, uses his expertise as a police communications expert to "audit" the system and shazam, the guys he picks discover a massive theft no one knew was taking place. They used the lack of a vote or MOU as a loophole to go after Motorola. What is really interesting is they never sued Madison or Ridgeland. Now if there was bootlegging or theft, it was done by those two cities and other governments, not Motorola. So why didn't Hinds sue the alleged culprits instead of the vendor? What is interesting is when Madison and Ridgeland went to the Wireless Commission a year ago to join the statewide radio system (MSWIN), Mr. Smith appeared at the meeting to oppose their leaving the Hinds system. Mr. Hargrove told the Commission it would cost Hinds money for them to leave the system although he was unable to specify how much or how such cost could be determined when asked by Commissioners. So if they stay on the system, they bootleg, if they leave, they have to pay. Heads I win, tails you lose.







Read page 12:




Copy of complaint
Motorola answer to complaint.
Dismissal of lawsuit
The audit
George Smith affidavit
Affidavit of Peggy Hobson-Calhoun
Affidavit of Doug Anderson

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Graham avoided WLBT but instead granted an interview to WAPT. Hmmm..... couldn't be because Cheryl might have asked him some real questions, would it be? Then there are these comments made on this website by CEO Charles Carter. I have verified their authenticity.

"Robert Graham has posted a list of former clients that he would have you believe hosted his 9-1-1 training company courses. Just as in other aspects of his life, this is untruthful. Eight of them were courses we contracted him to conduct for NECI as a contract instructor before we discoverd he was copying our course manuals and selling them as his. Some of these include the FBI Academy, FBI Field Office, Waco, TX Pasqui Yaqui Tribal Police, AZ Uncasville, CT and others.

Robert Graham has committed fraud on the City of Jackson, the citizens of Jackson, Hinds County and the State of Mississippi.

How could anyone with such a record of fraudulent activity not be ashamed to run for public office? How could anyone in their right mind elect him to public office?

If you re-elect him, you deserve him.

Charles D. Carter
President, CEO
National Emergency Communications Institute (NECI)
3535 Peachtree Rd, NE
Suite 520-417
Atlanta, GA 30326
3535 "

and made a second comment under his name:

Thank you for the positive support.

Graham fooled me for several years thinking he was a Lieutenant with the Jackson PD and 9-1-1 Director in addition to being an instructor at the JPD Police Academy.

I have since discovered that was a lie in addition to him making copies of our 9-1-1 training manuals, charging 9-1-1 agencies $495.00 for everyone he taught whicle the agencies were reimbursed by the state 9-1-1 board for the $495.00. He easily made $10,000 on some classes at the taxpayers expenses. He conducted many classes form 1996 until 2007 when we discovered the fraud and decertified him. In some classes, he used non-certified instructors contrary to MS statutory requirements for 9-1-1 certification.

When I notified Mr. Brantly, Finance Director at Jackson PD of the fraud, he said, "Let sleeping dogs lie." When I notified the state 9-1-1 board, they ask us to help them cover it up (Graham's fraud) by issuing certificates to all those 9-1-1 personnel he taught." We didn't. They (state 9-1-1 board) waived the certification for those taught fraudulently by Graham in violation of the MS Statute requiring 9-1-1 persons to be "duly certified" by one of the 9-1-1 certification programs "officially" recognized by the state board. Those individuals taught by Graham with bogus training materials aren't duly certified and are currently working unlawfully.

When we notified the Attorney General, we were told he is involved with an election and we don't have time.

When we told the State Auditor, we were told they would look into it. They did and fined him the $46k he received for "double-dipping" but did nothing about the crimes and the cover-ups by Jackson PD and the state 9-1-1 board.

When you are asked, "What's in your wallet?" you can say, "The hand of Robert Graham."

Good luck in November and for the next four years with Graham.

October 9, 2011 11:38 AM

Oh, don't forget, Robert Graham likes to play Lieutenant.

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Note: Watch the video. Start at 29:20 on Part 1. The debate gets rather lively. There is a nice exchange as well a few minutes before in Part 1 where Smith substitutes his motion for Fisher's. Synopsis of Airwave is available at the bottom of the post.

The Hinds County Board of Supervisors voted 3-2 to keep two contracts with Airwave LLC. District 4 Supervisor Phil Fisher moved to terminate the contracts and open the contracts up for bidding from other parties as he claimed doing so will save money. Hinds County paid Airwav $2.2. million since 2008 for three contracts (See synopsis below for the contracts). The contract for siren maintenance was terminated earlier this year.

Mr. Fisher said the both remaining contracts stated the contracts will automatically renew every year "on the start date". Mr. Fisher stated the anniversary date was in November to the Board would have to move to not renew the agreements this month. Mr. Fisher argued the county could save money if the contracts were opened for bidding. The contracts were awarded to Airwave as professional services contracts, which do not require the vendors go through the bidding process. Graham looked straight ahead and was silent during the entire discussion. Ironic since he is the one who made very motion to hire Airwave yet when the subject of Airwave came up, he strangely could not defend his earlier actions.

Board President George Smith told Mr. Fisher "in all fairness" he would allow Airwave and its attorney to speak to the board. Mr. Stowers was absent. Attorney Jamie Travis of Page, Kruger, & Holland and Nathan Hargrove of Northstar Wireless appeared in his place. Mr. Hargrove told the board "those agreements have saved the county money."

Mr. Travis then said "Mr. Stowers and Mr. Hargrove have been unfairly portrayed in the media." Mr. Travis claimed Motorola had the previous contract and Airwave saved the county over $300,000 and there were "no complaints". Mr. Travis argued the termination clause required the county to give Airwave a chance to cure all defects and problems.

Supervisor Peggy Hobson-Calhoun asked "where is Mr. Stowers?" Mr. Travis replied "I don't know" while Mr. Hargrove said "He's out working on the radio system" (after doing volunteer work at the Stewpot, of course.). Mr. Fisher said "I don't know why Northstar is up here as the two contracts I'm talking about is Airwave... I don't understand what their presence here is." Mr. Fisher then told Mr. Travis there had indeed been complaints and "I think you're not representing fully what has gone on the past three years with these contracts. The owner of Airwave did not show up at the meeting today, which is indicative of his attitude."

Mr. Travis flippantly replied "Is that it. Mr. Fisher, you and I will obviously agree to disagree." Travis then said Northstar is the service shop for Airwave (subcontractor) and Hargrove "did have standing to be here."

Mr. Fisher had none of it and said "I would suggest you go back and reread the minutes so that you can have your proper information." Travis shot back "I suggest you go back and read the contracts because these allegations and complaints and stuff have not been made available to my client."

Well, Mr. Travis, perhaps YOU should read the contracts. I had to listen to your repeated assertions and threats to sue the board yesterday if it terminated the contracts. Your main point of contention is the board can not terminate the contract without cause but it first has to make any complaints available to Airwave. Airwave then has to have the opportunity to address the problem.

Either Mr. Travis is a sloppy lawyer, which is entirely possible, or he is lying. Period. The contracts indeed state Hinds County has to give Airwave a chance to resolve any problems if the contract is terminated. The only problems is that clause is under the section dealing with default/termination on page 16, Section 10:

"If either party defaults in the performance of this Agreement, the other party will give to the non-performing party a written and detailed notice of default. The non-performing party will have thirty days therafter to provide a written plan to cure the default that is acceptable to the other party and begin implementing the cure plan immediately after plan approval. If the non-performing party fails to provide or implement the cure plan, then the injured party, in addition to any other rights available under the law, may immediately terminate this Agreement effective upon giving a written notice of termination to the defaulting party."

HOWEVER, on page 17, Section 14.6, in CAPITAL LETTERS RIGHT ABOVE THE SIGNATURES, the contract deals with renewal (Contract is posted below):

"THIS AGREEMENT WILL RENEW, FOR AN ADDITIONAL ONE YEAR TERM, ON EVERY ANNIVERSARY OF THE START DATE UNLESS EITHER THE COVER PAGE SPECIFICALLY STATES A TERMINATION DATE OR ONE PARTY NOTIFIES THE OTHER IN WRITING OF ITS INTENTION TO DISCONTINUE THE AGREEMENT NOT LESS THAN THIRTY DAYS OF THAT ANNIVERSARY DATE. At the Anniversary date, Airwave may adjust the price of the Services to reflect its current rates."

Looks like Mr. Travis was full of hot air and empty on facts as he completely misrepresented the contract to the board with his threats and his complaining about complaints. It also looks like the board was more interesting in helping their cronies make millions than in saving the county some money.

Synopsis of Airwave : Airwave is owned by Stacy Stowers. Airwave has been the subject of some controversy this year after WLBT, the Northside Sun, and this website reported on the cozy deals Airwave has with Hinds County. Airwave obtained the following contracts:

* Contract to maintain weather sirens even though the sirens are brand new and covered by a five-year warranty. JJ estimates the payments for the siren contracts are $149,194.

*Contract to maintain professional services for the emergency communications system.
The contract price is $122,000 per year to maintain six tower sites.

*Maintenance contract for the 800 Mhz radio system. $4 million contract for six years.
Year one: $374,860 ($93,715 per quarter), Year two: $521,885 ($130,463 per quarter), Year three: $736,918 ($184,229 per quarter), Year four: $770,035 ($192,508 per quarter), Year five: $804,908 ($201,227 per quarter), Year six: $845,153 ($211,288 per quarter)

Two of the contracts were awarded in 2008 even though Airwave LLC did not exist as a company until 2009.

Original post last night: I'll post my write-up in the morning but here is the video of today's Hinds County Board of Supervisors meeting. Supervisor Phil Fisher moved to open up Airwave's contracts with Hinds County for bidding next month when they are up for renewal. Supervisor Peggy Hobson-Calhoun seconded the motion. Robert Graham, Doug Anderson, and George Smith voted against opening up the contract for bidding. Fun starts at 29:20 on Part 1. Airwave's attorney had a few things to say in Part 2. Pour a drink and enjoy.

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He may have left JPD at the end of 2006 but Hinds County Supervisor still likes to play Lieutenant. Mr. Graham spoke at an August 2010 conference of the Association of Public-Safety Communications Officials (APCO). Mr. Graham introduced himself as "Lieutenant Robert Graham of the Jackson Police Department" in the first three minutes of the audio recording posted below.

Here is a transcript of his opening remarks:

"Good morning. I am your instructor for the morning. I'm Lieutenant Robert Graham of the Jackson Police Department and I'd like to talk for an hour. I'm going to move pretty quickly about a subject that is very near and dear to my heart. The subject is called "Officer Down". For over 35 years I spent in the dispatch center as a dispatcher I'm a little but unusual type of police officer. The reason why I'm kind of unusual is every time the chief would put me on the street, I would mess up bad enough for them to put me back in dispatch. So I love dispatchers. I have a passion for dispatchers, I'm a dispatcher yesterday, I'm a dispatcher tomorrow, I'm a dispatcher forever."

Mr. Graham left the employment of JPD at the end of 2006 and was never a certified law enforcement officer but was a civilian employee of JPD. He served as a JPD reservist until earlier this year.



Mr. Graham also presented himself as a JPD Lieutenant earlier this year at an APCO conference and at APCO conferences in April 2010, November 2009, and 2008. N. A bulletin for a 2012 conference mentions him only as President of Professional Dispatch Management.

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Check out the last entry on the left side of the page:

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The John Dennery campaign just released the following announcement:

Dennery Picked As GOP Nominee for Hinds County Supervisor District 1
Jackson, Mississippi –

On Monday, the Hinds County Republican Party chose John Dennery as its candidate for Supervisor in District 1. Last Friday, Republican nominee Roger Davis withdrew to focus on his business.

"I'm excited about the opportunity to restore the people's faith in our Board of Supervisors," said Dennery. "Our county suffers from a lack of transparency that has led to no-bid contracts and backroom deals. If I’m elected those deals will stop.”

John Dennery was the owner and operator of Dennery’s Restaurant for 33 years, until his retirement in 2008. John’s work in business earned him notoriety both in Mississippi and nationally. John was Restaurateur of the Year in 1987 and has served as a delegate to the White House Conference on Small Business.

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Here is the video of the meeting. Nothing exciting as most of the time was spent on housekeeping issues such as contracts, awards, and reports. There is one interesting discussion at the beginning of the fourth clip over the upgrading of radios and mobile units for the Sheriff's office. The radios are upgraded to Phase II. Such an upgrade makes them compatible with the statewide (MSWIN) radio system. The term used in the dicussion, "flash" means changing the internal parts for the upgrade. The contract is with Motorola and Supervisor Fisher had made sure Airwave or Northstar was not involved.

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An exhibit recently filed in Ricky Moore vs. Hinds County Board of Supervisors claims Supervisor Doug Anderson made racist statements concerning the denial of Mr. Moore’s application for the position of the Director of Emergency Operations Center. Mr. Moore filed suit after the board hired Jimmie Lewis to replace a retiring Larry Fisher in 2009. The plaintiff was employed as Assistant Director of Emergency Management for twenty years by Hinds County. Mr. Lewis was the director of the Permits & Zoning Department and had a Master’s in Physical Education. Mr. Lewis is black. Mr. Moore is white. Mr. Moore claimed he was denied the position due to his race.

Mr. Moore submitted a sworn affidavit by Rosalind Longino. Ms. Longino has served with EOC since 1976 and is currently the Deputy Director. She claimed Doug Anderson “remarked to me that Ricky J. Moore would not likely be hired for the position of Director because of his membership in the Caucasian (White) race. Mr. Anderson plainly stated ‘how would you feel if Ricky were to get the job as Director.” Ms. Longino replied “it would be favorable because he was the proper person for the position.” The affidavit states Mr. Anderson replied “We are a majority Black board- do you really believe that we aren’t going to put a Black in the position of Director?”

Doug Anderson made the motion to hire Jimmie Lewis. This is not the first time Mr. Anderson would have made such statements if true as earlier this year the long-time supervisor told WJTV he did not want more white voters in his district.

The exhibits posted below contain the transcripts, affidavits, and professional histories of Mr. Moore and Mr. Lewis. Dale Danks represents Ricky Moore. Mr. Moore resigned shortly after his application was rejected. He filed suit on June 17, 2010 after the EEOC gave him permission to do so. Mr. Moore claims Mr. Lewis is unqualified for the position.

The Supervisors hired Charles Graham, the brother of Robert Graham, to replace Mr. Moore. Jimmie Lewis later fired Charles Graham. Mr. Graham currently has a lawsuit in federal court alleging discrimination by the county based upon his age. Mr. Graham is black. Mr. Moore also submitted a transcript of a conversation between Mr. Graham and EOC Director Jimmie Lewis regarding the hiring of his brother. The transcript is posted below (page 8) and discusses where Mr. Lewis can interview Charles Graham away from scrutiny. There is one little interesting aside where they discuss how to avoid giving any information to the Jackson Free Press.

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