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Former Admin. George Touart Wants Legal Bills Paid Over Ethics Complaint Filed By Walnut Hill Man
February 4, 2009
The county attorney is recommending that the county deny a request by former Escambia County Administrator George Touart to pay legal bills related to ethics complaints filed against in part by a Walnut Hill man.
After Touart resigned in September 2007, an ethics complain was filed against him by Preston Solomon of Walnut Hill and Michael Coonan of Pensacola. The complaint was dismissed by the state’s ethics commission.
The ethics complained alleged that Touart was linked to company that was contracted to remove post-hurricane debris in the county. There were also allegations that Touart’s wife was improperly hired by the county.
County Attorney Allison Rogers will present a recommendation to the Escambia County Commission Thursday night that Touart’s request for $3,629.60 be denied.
“The defense of complaints filed by Preston Solomon and Michael Coonan with the State of Florida Commission on Ethics by former County Administrator George Touart does not meet either statutory or common law criteria for reimbursement of legal fees and costs by Mr. Touart,” Rogers says in a letter presented to commissioners.
Mike Patterson of the law firm Emmanuel Sheppard & Condon requested that the county pay $3,446 in legal fees and $183 in other costs for the firm’s representation of Touart in the ethics matter.
Comments
3 Responses to “Former Admin. George Touart Wants Legal Bills Paid Over Ethics Complaint Filed By Walnut Hill Man”
There’s nothing else to pay for now except for Touart paying his lawyer to ask for his fees back. And if Touart had already resigned when the complaint came up, why would the county have to pay anything? And anything the county attorneys would do now, I assume, is already paid for. They work on salary paid for by the taxpayers. Right?
Don’t pay him a dime…He has enough of our money from his state pension, which he should never have received.
Cheaper to pay the legal fees than to fight it. Most know that GT is one of the “Good ol Boys” and was on the take, but the ethics complaint was dismissed, so the county needs to pay up. Although we don’t like paying for Touart’s legal fees, It’ll cost us taxpayers ten times as much to fight it.