NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — The Metro Legal Department has now weighed in on the ethics complaint filed against Metro councilwoman Joy Kimbrough.
NewsChannel 5 Investigates was the first to describe how a Nashville business owner claims Kimbrough demanded half a million dollars to support his project in her council district.
Tuesday, the Legal Department released its report on the case.
Nearly two weeks ago, NewsChannel 5 Investigates asked Metro Councilwoman Joy Kimbrough, "Did you or did you not ask Ryan Moses for $500,000?"
She replied. "I absolutely did not."
"You did not?" we asked again.
"Absolutely," Kimbrough stated.
And while Kimbrough told us she did not ask a Nashville business owner for money to support his project, the Metro Legal department said in its report released Tuesday that it recommends that there be a hearing on the allegations. This is the typical next step in the ethics complaint process.
Last month, as we first reported, Ryan Moses, the CEO of Best Brands, filed a sworn complaint against Kimbrough, claiming she demanded half a million dollars from him during a cell phone conversation in April.
The Nashville-based company wants to expand its corporate headquarters and build a liquor distribution warehouse in Kimbrough's council district at the corner of Ashland City Highway and Briley Parkway.
And Moses maintained in his formal complaint that as he and Kimbrough were discussing how Best Brands would give $150,000to non-profits in the Bordeaux community, Kimbrough suddenly insisted that he instead pay $500,000 and that she would control where the money went in order for her to move his project forward.
At a recent community meeting she'd organized, Kimbrough spoke about the ethics complaint and told the audience, "I'm going to tell you right now, that liquor boy is a liar."
Kimbrough has publicly taken swings at Moses since he filed his complaint.
Meanwhile, Metro's Legal Department got busy looking at the complaint and the allegations. Their job was not to determine guilt or innocence, who's right and who's wrong, but rather if the allegations were indeed true, would they violate the Standards of Conduct for elected officials?
The Metro Code says employees cannot accept or solicit anything of value intended to influence an employee in their official capacity.
Kimbrough is accused of misusing her office for personal benefit and coercion or quid pro quo, by reportedly insisting on the payment and tying it to the rezoning needed for the warehouse to move forward.
The Department of Law wrote in its report that the allegations "if proven, could be deemed to be a violation of the Standards of Conduct," clearing the way for the Ethical Conduct Board to hold a hearing on the matter.
"Never, ever have I been accused of something that sounds like extortion from a liquor store," Kimbrough also said at that community meeting last month.
The ethics complaint also accused Kimbrough of manipulating the normal public process for neighborhood and private meetings and gave a list of things Moses said Kimbrough had done that he felt were unethical.
But the Legal Department did not feel that any of those met the definition of an ethical violation and recommended dismissing that part of the complaint against the councilwoman.
The Ethical Conduct Board is set to meet Thursday, September 18th. They will likely set a date for the hearing on the complaint then.
PREVIOUS RELATED REPORTING:
Metro councilwoman goes on the defensive after ethics complaint alleges she demanded money for support
Metro Councilwoman accused of using office for personal gain and coercion in formal ethics complaint
