Georgia Supreme Court disbars lawyer Mitch Skandalakis

<p>The Georgia Supreme Court has disbarred Marietta lawyer and former Fulton County Commission Chairman Mitch Skandalakis from practicing law in Georgia.</p><p>The court found in an opinion handed down Monday that Skandalakis pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in Atlanta to one felony count of making a false statement to an FBI agent who was investigating corruption in Fulton County government.</p><p>The court found that Skandalakis "knowingly and willfully lied" in an attempt to avoid being held accountable for a breach of his public trust."</p><p>Skandalakis ran for lieutenant governor in 1998.</p><p>He appeared in federal court in December 2003 to answer to an unspecified charge. His appearance came just 12 days after his former chief of staff was sentenced to six months in federal prison for taking bribes.</p><p>The U.S. Attorney's office said in a one-paragraph statement at the time that Skandalakis would enter a guilty plea. Skandalakis has long been in the shadow of a federal investigation of corruption in Atlanta politics.</p><p>Josh Kenyon, a former top aide to Skandalakis, was sentenced Dec. 4, 2003, to six months after pleading guilty to taking $14,000 in bribes from businessman George Greene. His company _ Sable Communications _ did business with Fulton County.</p><p>Skandalakis acknowledged earlier that Greene paid him $5,000 a month during part of the time he was commission chairman. But he said the payments were retainers for legal representation.</p>

http://accesswdun.com/article/2005/11/135776