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770-442-3278 | TheCrier.net
March 17, 2022 | AppenMedia.com | An Appen Media Group Publication | Ser ving the community since 1976
City’s tab By JAKE DRUKMAN jake@appenmedia.com
N. Main Street, Alpharetta, GA 30009 for319police legal issues: $400,000 locals to recycle PUBLISHER EMERITUS: Dick Williams
DUNWOODY, Ga. — The City of Dunwoody paid more than $400,000 for legal services to address personnel matters within its police department that were brought to light in 2020. Invoices from Elarbee, Thompson, Sapp & Wilson show the city paid the law firm about $407,000 for employment matters within the Dunwoody Police Department from May 2020 to November 2021. An internal report released by the city in July 2020 alleges internal strife within the department had been going on for years and cited nearly 50 allegations of sexual harassment and professional misconduct against senior officers. Many of the allegations centered around former Lt. Fidel Espinoza, who resigned before the probe concluded. Some officers said Espinoza had been harassing them for years. Determining the legal costs to the city wasn’t cheap. Most of the legal invoices, obtained through an open records request initially filed by Reporter Newspapers, are heavily redacted and do not specify whether the costs are related to cases involving Espinoza. The city charged Reporter Newspapers $115 for the redacted invoices. The city and Espinoza have faced two lawsuits from former officers since the probe, the first filed in July 2020 by Roger Halstead and the second filed Feb. 17, 2022 by Bryan Castellanos. Castellanos’ suit alleges that Espinoza repeatedly sent unsolicited and sexually explicit messages to him on “countless occasions.” It alleges the city “condoned,
PUBLISHER: Hans Appen
Dunwoody invites their electronics DUNWOODY, Ga.— Dunwoody residents can register now for the city’s electronics recycling event Sunday, March 27, at St. Luke’s Presbyterian Church, 1978 Mt. Vernon Road, from 1 to 4 p.m. This free event is for Dunwoody residents only. They can find a link to register at www.dunwoodyga. gov/electronics. “Recycling is a priority for our City Council, and events like these allow us to meet the needs of our community,” Mayor Lynn Deutsch said. “This is a great and convenient way to support the environment.” Items accepted for recycling include monitors, desktops, laptops, smart phones, tablets, keyboards, mice, servers, networking gear, circuit boards, RAM & CPU, wires & cables, hard drives & memory cards, digital cameras, GPS units, speakers, copiers, ink & toner, scanners, projectors, game consoles, phone systems, lab & medical equipment, point of sale systems, microwaves, DVD players and barcode scanners. Items that will not be accepted
GENERAL MANAGER & ADVERTISING: Jim Hart MANAGING EDITOR: Patrick Fox
EDITORIAL QUESTIONS:
See TAB, Page 2
Alpharetta-Roswell Herald: Alpharetta: ext. 118, Roswell ext. 122 Dunwoody Crier: ext. 123 Forsyth Herald: ext. 118 Johns Creek Herald: ext. 123 Heavily redacted invoices from Elarbee, Sapp & Wilson show Dunwoody Milton Herald: ext. 139 Thompson, paid the law firm more than $400,000 for employment matters within the Dunwoody Calendar: ext. 122 Police Department from May 2020 to November 2021.
ROBIN BLASS ROBIN BLASS TO SUBMIT EDITORIAL:
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See RECYCLING, Page 6