Gwinnett commission chair speaks out about bribery pleas

GWINNETT COUNTY - The chairman of the Gwinnett County Commission is now speaking out about the bribery charges against her fellow commissioner Shirley Lasseter, Lasseter's son John Fanning and Flowery Branch businessman Carl "Skip" Cain.

"This has to raise additional questions about the situation in Gwinnett... it means we're going to have to work that much harder," said Chairman Charlotte Nash, speaking with Channel 2 News.

Nash said there will be a special election to fill Lasseter's seat on the commission, but she said she doesn't know when that election will be held.

Lasseter pleaded guilty in federal court in Atlanta Thursday to a charge of accepting bribes in exchange for her support of a proposed real estate development in her district.

Lasseter and Cain accepted thousands of dollars in cash last year from an undercover FBI agent posing as a businessman. Fanning was promised a 50 percent stake in a pawn shop that was to be part of the project.

The agent told the three he was involved in drug trafficking, and Fanning and Cain made it clear to him that they would like to get involved with that.