NASHVILLE, Tn. (WTVF) — Stunning allegations are coming to light against a Metro councilwoman.
In a formal ethics complaint, Joy Kimbrough is accused of asking a Nashville business owner for half a million dollars to get her to support his project in her district.
But she accuses her accuser of spreading "meritless lies."
And now some of Kimbrough's constituents want answers.
Joe Bond has lived in Bordeaux some 40 years and is a big supporter of a proposal to turn a parcel of vacant land off Ashland City Highway and Briley Parkway into an industrial warehouse.
"I think it’s one of the best plans Bordeaux could ever have," Bond told NewsChannel 5 Investigates.
"So you think the community supports this [plan]?" we asked Bond.
"100%," he replied.
The Nashville-based liquor distributor, Best Brands, wants to expand its corporate headquarters and build a warehouse distribution center on the property. The company has promised to hire employees from Bordeaux and give $150,000 over five years to non-profits and causes that directly help that area.
"I mean, come on, Joy," Bond exclaimed when we asked about Metro Councilwoman Joy Kimbrough who represents the area which is also known as Metro Council District 1 and the allegations against her.
Kimbrough is accused of demanding half a million dollars from the CEO of Best Brands to support the project.
Ryan Moses has filed a formal complaint with Metro's Board of Ethical Conduct, accusing Kimbrough of using her office for personal gain and of coercion.
According to the sworn complaint, Moses says that on April 24 of this year, Kimbrough called his cell phone and as they were discussing the $150,000 community benefit money, she insisted that he pay $500,000 immediately and that she would control where the money went in order for her to move his project forward. According to Moses, he questioned this, and Kimbrough replied, "Well, that's where I am and what I want."
Moses declined an interview, but told NewsChannel 5 Investigates in a text, "Joy knows what she said and did."
Kimbrough also declined an interview, but sent us what she told us was her formal response to the complaint, an email that she sent to the Metro Legal Department and Metro Clerk where she wrote, "Moses believes that he has family connections that make him untouchable. He is a spoiled, entitled, privileged, unhinged, lying cry baby who...is attempting to besmirch my name"...claiming quote, "He has told a bunch of meritless lies and I have the texts and emails to prove it."
We showed Kimbrough's response to her constituent, Joe Bond.
"Do you see anywhere in here where she says, 'I did not say the things I’m accused of saying?'"
"I don’t see it in there," he stated.
But Bond went on to tell us that when he asked Kimbrough about what's alleged in the ethics complaint that she did not deny any of it.
"She said, 'Well I was bluffing to see whether or not he would leave it alone and just forget it,'" Bond recalled.
We tried to stop him to make sure we understood what he was telling us.
"Wait, she [Kimbrough] told you she said it [asked Moses for the $500,000]?"
Bond responded, "That’s what she said. That she was bluffing him."
What's not clear is why the councilwoman would try to "bluff" Ryan Moses.
But just one day after that call between Moses and Kimbrough, the councilwoman wrote in an email to constituents, updating them on what was going on in District 1, that she would "not be able to support" the (Best Brands) project...that "there is no amount of money that would make me feel comfortable supporting" it.
We shared with Joe Bond, "She [Kimbrough] tells me District 1 doesn’t want this [project]? "
He shot back, "She don’t know what she’s talking about!"
Bond pointed to a petition with more than 150 signatures from folks who live around the proposed warehouse site who support the project.
As for the allegations against Councilwoman Kimbrough by the Best Brands CEO?
Bond suggested, "Why would he [Moses] file a complaint if it had not been discussed?"
Again, Kimbrough claims that Moses has "told a bunch of meritless lies and that she has the texts and emails to prove it." We have repeatedly asked her to share those texts and emails with us and have yet to receive anything.
The Metro Legal Department now has both the ethics complaint and Kimbrough's response to review. It will send a report to the Board of Ethical Conduct by September 9 and then the Board will decide whether to dismiss the complaint or hold a hearing on the matter.
If it gets to the point where the Board finds that she violated any of its standards of conduct, she could face a number of possible sanctions, including a written warning to a public censure. The board could also recommend that she resign and could even refer the matter to the district attorney for potentially criminal charges.
But again, first, the Board has to decide whether it's even going to move forward with the case.
