The harder they come...

So the FBI’s asking about Mitch Skandalakis in connection with the Fulton County bribery scandal, eh?

My God, the irony! Not to mention the distraction.

The distraction is so severe that a couple of weeks ago, I inadvertently wrote in this space that this year’s Georgia Republican convention had taken place in Augusta, when it was actually held in Savannah. It was a minor mistake for which I apologize, but it was caused by the distraction of what appears to be a total corruption meltdown on Pryor Street - and the investigation’s ties to Skandalakis.

But it’s the irony that has immobilized me. Even now, I am unable to concentrate properly because of this ever-widening bribery scandal involving a minority contractor and the arch-nemesis of all minority set-asides, Mitch Skandalakis.

As everyone now knows, County Commissioner Michael Hightower, county contractor George Greene and former Skandalakis aide Josh Kenyon each pleaded guilty last week to a single federal charge of public corruption involving illegal cash payments made to ensure the delivery of a multi-million dollar computer contract to Greene’s firm, Sable Communications.

What is most interesting about the charges is that Hightower, Greene and Kenyon all copped guilty pleas without actually being indicted, and each willingly acknowledged to reporters that they are “cooperating” with prosecutors in the investigation, which is said to be ongoing.

In the interest of fairness, it is important to note that no federal prosecutor or FBI agent has publicly named Skandalakis as a subject of the corruption investigation. But all the major Atlanta media outlets are blaring reports that suggest Hightower, Greene, and Kenyon have already turned state’s evidence against one or more thus-far-unindicted individuals in exchange for lighter prison sentences. Keen speculation centers upon whether one of those fingered is, in fact, Skandalakis.

Kenyon and Skandalakis have a long history together. Kenyon, formerly an attorney on the staff of the rightwing Southeastern Legal Foundation (a leader in the battle against Fulton’s affirmative action program), came to Fulton County government after Skandalakis won the commission chairman’s race in 1992. As his aide, Kenyon helped Mitch wreak havoc upon the majority-black commission, with both of them reserving their harshest vitriol for the county’s minority set-aside program.

In the mid-’90s, Skandalakis and Kenyon promoted themselves as examples of public integrity, boasting that they had foiled a prospective contractor’s bribery attempt by contacting the FBI and setting up a sting operation, resulting in the contractor being convicted and sentenced to prison. (Ironically, that contractor is now asking that his conviction be tossed out because it was based partly upon the testimony of Kenyon, who is now a convicted felon himself.)

The whole thing is a godawful mess, and it’s apparently far from over. Could it be that Mitch Skandalakis spent his years as chairman of the Fulton County Commission crusading against minority participation in county contracts at the same time that he was accepting money from minority contractors? Is it possible that the flamboyant right-wing darling of North Fulton’s white Republican majority may be preparing for an informative interview with prosecutors himself?

No one knows yet. But the answers to these and many more questions are due to be answered in federal court. According to veteran political columnist Bill Shipp, Skandalakis has reportedly formulated a defense based on the fact that he declared all of the payments on his income tax returns, and will claim that any payments received from Mr. Greene were legitimate payments for “consulting work” performed on behalf of Sable Communications.

The problem is, such a consulting arrangement is, at best, unethical - and is likely to be far more serious, if the current crop of admitted felons is any indication.

Either way, the irony is killing me. ??