A federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit brought by a lobbyist whose private banking records were subpoenaed by the city of Atlanta’s former government watchdog.
Bernie Tokarz — who owns security company Cloverhurst Strategies, which contracts with the city — sued former Inspector General Shannon Manigault last year, alleging she unlawfully obtained his personal banking information and then retaliated against him for criticizing her investigative practices.
In his initial lawsuit, Tokarz alleged that his Fourth Amendment rights were violated and sought an injunction to prevent future violations.
Manigault raised red flags about the city’s dealings with Tokarz’s company during an investigation into whether the political insider disclosed personal and financial ties with city employees and officials. The investigation stemmed from the bidding process for a contract to provide security officers at city parks, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution previously reported.
In her lengthy report, the former IG pointed to connections Tokarz shared with council members Michael Julian Bond and Andrea Boone, although the watchdog office did not accuse the council members of any wrongdoing. The Atlanta City Council approved a $1.5 million security contract with Cloverhurst Strategies despite the investigation’s findings.
After Tokarz spoke out publicly against the inspector general, he alleged Manigault retaliated by filing a “baseless” complaint against him with the Georgia Government Transparency and Campaign Finance Commission.
Manigault resigned from her role last year amid a bitter feud with Mayor Andre Dickens’ administration over the office’s authority.
At the time, she said she and her staff faced “threats, bullying, intimidation and harassment at the hands of people who have been the subjects of our investigations.” She also described what she called a “concerted effort” on the part of city officials to block her misconduct investigations.
Atlanta’s city attorney, meanwhile, accused Manigault of violating state law at least 50 times while issuing subpoenas during her investigations. Those violations allegedly related to a request in the subpoenas that banks not disclose her office’s demand for the private records, the AJC reported at the time.
Credit: HYOSUB SHIN / AJC
Credit: HYOSUB SHIN / AJC
Georgia state law mandates that banks alert their customers when records are pursued as part of any criminal or tax investigation.
In dismissing Tokarz’ lawsuit last week, U.S. District Judge Victoria Marie Calvert sided with both Manigault and the city in challenges raised by the defendants.
Manigault, Calvert ruled, cannot be sued in her official capacity since she is no longer the inspector general. As for the allegations she violated Tokarz’ constitutional rights, the judge sided with the former IG, who said she was acting within her discretionary authority to conduct the investigation.
The city, meanwhile, successfully argued it had no control over Manigault’s issuance of subpoenas while she was in office, pointing toward a cease-and-desist letter sent to the Office of the Inspector General over its investigative practices.
Calvert dismissed Tokarz’ lawsuit without prejudice and gave the lobbyist three weeks to amend his complaint. Failure to do so, the judge warned, would result in the lawsuit being dismissed for good.
A city spokesperson did not respond to questions Thursday about the lawsuit’s dismissal, and an attorney representing Tokarz could not be reached for comment Thursday.
Manigault’s attorney, James Radford, said in a email that they were pleased with the judge’s order.
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