ATLANTA -- Former Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed's deputy chief of staff Katrina Taylor Parks pleaded guilty on Wednesday to federal charges of conspiracy to commit bribery.
In a news conference early Wednesday afternoon, US Attorney Byung J. 'BJay" Pak said that Taylor Parks agreed to cooperate in their ongoing investigation. Attorneys declined to speculate how useful her cooperation will be. However, prosecutors will recommend a sentence for her in November, partly based on how helpful she's been.
“Parks was trusted to serve the citizens of Atlanta, but opted instead to betray that confidence when she accepted bribes from a vendor,” Pak said. “Unfortunately, she is not alone. Parks represents the fifth defendant to enter a guilty plea in this investigation. We remain resolute in our commitment to root out those who seek to profit personally at the expense of the public’s trust.”
According to Pak, a city vendor met with Parks on multiple occasions, allegedly paying her thousands of dollars in exchange for the vendor receiving tens of thousands of dollars in city contracts.
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Taylor-Parks' attorney Jay Strongwater told reporters afterward "it’s unfortunate Katrina did not draw a bright line as relates to a conflict between her outside consulting and her employment as a city employee. Katrina is heartbroken by this turn of events and deeply regrets this transgression." As she exited the federal courthouse, she said she was "devastated" that she'd admitted to bribery.
During a federal probe in 2017 and 2018, Taylor-Parks told investigators she hadn't received any money outside of her city salary. She became the latest person charged in the ongoing bribery investigation in August.
Sentencing for Parks has been set for November 5.
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In a separate hearing, Mitzi Bickers appeared in court for a status hearing. The former confidant of Mayor Reed is accused of taking about a million dollars in bribes. Of a half dozen people indicted in the probe, Bickers is the only defendant to contest the charges.
Bickers' attorneys, Drew Findling and Marissa Goldberg, requested an additional three months to go over the more than one million documents and more than 180 gigabytes of data that has accumulated in the case.
The judge granted the lawyers' request and set the next status hearing date for November 15.
