Pine Lake mayor removed by judge

PINE LAKE - The City Council removed Mayor Al Fowler from office after a judge ruled he was guilty of financial misdeeds. <br> <br> Judge Phillip Hancock of the Municipal Court in this Atlanta suburb heard evidence Wednesday on eight allegations and found Fowler guilty of signing a promissory note for $25,000 without council approval and ordering city employees to enter the transaction as a donation. <br> <br> The judge said Fowler also authorized a $3,000 bonus to a city employee and instructed the city clerk not to run the payment through normal accounts, signed contracts without council approval and provided misleading information to the city auditor. <br> <br> Superior Court Senior Judge Edward Wheeler denied Fowler&#39;s motion for a temporary restraining order on the council&#39;s vote. <br> <br> Fowler, mayor since January 1999, said the charges were untrue. He called his removal an effort by some longtime critics to ``create turmoil.&#39;&#39;