City May Have Improperly Paid Attorney's Fees With Airport Money

The FAA is investigating the possible misuse of airport funds intended for improvements and operations at Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport to pay attorney's fees in response to federal subpoenas related to a City Hall corruption investigation.

The FAA cited a report published in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution as the genesis of the investigation. The report, which the paper published in June, outlined payments totaling more than $7 million to three law firms retained to respond the the subpoenas stemming from a grand jury investigation.

A portion of that money came from airport funds which by law must be used only for capital and operations expenses at the airport. Experts speaking to the paper for the article raised questions about the legality of the expenditure.

In a letter dated July 26, Kevin C. Willis, the director of the FAA's compliance office, said "While we recognize that legal expenditures are permissible under certain circumstances, this article raises questions that the Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) Office of Airport Compliance and Management Analysis (ACO) must address.”

(Image from file)

FMI: Original report