On ATL’s most dangerous block, change comes slowly

This ran in the AJC over the weekend about my old hood, Atlanta's sketchiest side, the Wild Wild Westside.

Brings back horrible memories. I can't believe they turned the American Legion post into a club.

This is not the nicest section of retail, mind you, just beyond the tracks on Joseph Boone (Simpson Rd). near Chappell, but is one of the few places to get a sip/bite in the area. No wonder so few businesses (or people) are willing to locate in the area. There used to be this great little carry out hole in the wall called Derrick's Place with unbelievable burgers and that sort of thing. Half the reason to go was the entertainment value of the folks in attendance. There'd be folks trying to sell you cell phones and other hot items and crackheads trying to beg you for enough to get their cheeseburger on too. Derrick had a great security system - 1 screwdriver he'd drive into the bulletproof window as soon as he'd taken your order. One day it and the club attached to it burned to the ground, and that was it. The building was cleared and now it's just a vacant lot with some old tires at the corner of Ashby and Simpson.

Since March, 5 killings have taken place in 1300 block of Joseph E. Boone Boulevard

By TIM EBERLY

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Saturday, January 03, 2009

Atlanta police have a new problem child. It comes in the form of late-night hangouts bunched together on the same block of Joseph E. Boone Boulevard in northwest Atlanta.

Boone, formerly named Simpson Road, has long been known as a place where violence felt welcome. But homicide detectives call Boone’s 1300 block the most dangerous block in the city. Since March, five homicides have been committed in or outside three establishments on Boone Boulevard: Jones Tasty Dog, American Legion Post 574 and Ruby’s Sanabella Lounge.

I can't wait

Oops, they did it again

Ironic that one of Shirley Franklin's first tasks as mayor was to straighten out the mess of accounting she inherited when she took office. She took credit for increasing transparency and accountability to the public. Oh, Atlanta how I miss you.

Some pretty good comments folks have left on the site (link below) too.
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Oops, they did it again
City faces budget shortfall as large as $100 million
Published 01.23.08
By Scott Henry

Shortly after Shirley Franklin took office in early 2002, she discovered the city was facing a crippling $82 million budget shortfall left over from the Bill Campbell administration. The new mayor responded by slashing nearly 1,000 city jobs, raising taxes and even cutting her own salary by $40,000.

Get ready for a dose of déjà vu.

Earlier this month, a cryptic memo warning that the city could expect "certain financial challenges" in coming months was sent by Greg Giornelli, the city's chief operating officer, to Council President Lisa Borders and Councilman Howard Shook, who chairs the Council's Finance Committee.

In the memo, Giornelli said he was ordering an immediate citywide hiring freeze and cutting the administration's discretionary spending by half.

What the memo didn't say was how large a deficit the city is anticipating. And in a Council finance hearing last week, neither Giornelli nor Chief Financial Officer Janice Davis was willing to publicly discuss any numbers.

But Shook says he's been briefed on the estimated figures, and they're big. Scary big. The volume of red ink could even exceed the 2002 shortfall.

While city accountants are still poring over balance sheets, Shook says, the final deficit figure appears to be in the range of $75 million to perhaps more than $100 million.

"We aren't going to be able to finesse our way out of this hole by reusing paper clips," he says. "We're going to need to cut positions by the hundreds. This may prevent us from really putting a dent in the police attrition rate."

Click here to read Scott Henry's whole story in CL: http://atlanta.creativeloafing.com/gyrobase/oops_they_did_it_again/Content?oid=398622

Atlanta cop admits to taking payoffs from businesses

Atlanta cop admits to taking payoffs from businesses
Daniel Betts' admission came out of investigation into Kathryn Johnson shooting
By RHONDA COOK, BILL RANKIN
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 01/24/08

A former Atlanta police officer pleaded guilty Thursday to extortion charges that were uncovered in the ongoing federal investigation of the fatal shooting of an elderly woman during a botched drug raid in 2006.

Daniel Betts, who resigned from the force shortly before his plea, admitted accepting payoffs in exchange for extra patrols. Betts and other officers would give business owners their phone numbers so if there was trouble, the owners could call the officers directly, not 911.

"He was receiving money from a business in a high-crime area for doing nothing other than what he was supposed to do as a police officer," U.S. Attorney David Nahmias said after the plea. "Instead of calling 911, you could call your private 911."

Moreover, the officers, by giving increased patrols to some businesses, pushed crime to businesses that were not giving payoffs, Nahmias said.

Betts, 26, worked as an Atlanta police officer nearly five years. He got involved in the illegal payoff scheme after a former narcotics officer, Gregg Junnier, pleaded guilty last year for his role in the killing of 92-year-old Kathryn Johnston.

After his plea, Junnier admitted to his role in the extortion scheme and apparently fingered Betts. Junnier, as part of his plea agreement, is cooperating with federal and local authorities.

Betts' cooperation with federal investigators will be considered when he is sentenced April 4.
On Thursday, Betts told U.S. District Court Judge Julie Carnes he initially didn't see anything wrong in collecting payments from an unidentified apartment complex.

"I do now," he added.

After the hearing, Betts' attorney, William McKenney, said Junnier "is dragging everyone into this."

McKenney called the extortion charges against Betts unprecedented and said the police department usually handles such matters administratively.

Betts did not know the payments were illegal because he was working off-duty one day a week for those businesses, McKenney said.

The FBI learned last June that Junnier was collecting $400 to $700 a week from a business owner who would phone for him instead of calling 911, Assistant U.S. Attorney Kurt Erskine said. When confronted with that information, Junnier told authorities about the other businesses he received payoffs from.

After Junnier was suspended in the days following the Johnston shooting, another officer began collecting money from the owner of an apartment complex, Erskine said at Thursday's plea hearing.

The extra patrols stopped, however, so the business owner was not getting anything for the extra money, the prosecutor said. In July 2007, the business owner, whose identity has not been disclosed, allowed authorities to secretly tape-record officers collecting the payoffs.

On several occasions, Betts came to collect money, authorities said.

McKenney said Betts picked up about $120 a week and shared it with another officer.

Click here for the full story: http://www.ajc.com/metro/content/metro/atlanta/stories/2008/01/24/payoff_0125.html

Just another payday on Ashby St. and sleep loitering at the Hairport

BadHabits: Blotter
The Blotter
Bizarre crimes from Atlanta police reports
BY LAUREN KEATING
Published 12.05.07

"Do you hear what I hear? A possible kidnapping victim contacted police. The 34-year-old man said he finished his job working at the stadium for an Atlanta Falcons game, and he went to cash his paycheck. He said around 2 a.m., three men jumped him, threw him into a truck and beat him until he was unconscious. He said when he woke up, he was lying under a bunch of sheetrock and trash in an abandoned apartment on Ashby Street. He said the men took his money ($50 cash and a money order for $160) and his backpack -- but they didn't take his wallet. Also, the man said he'd been drinking, and after he woke up, he tried to drink a beer but couldn't, so he threw away the beer in a field. Then, he took a bus home to his apartment on Thomasville Boulevard. The man complained of injuries to his head, shoulder and legs. Medics examined him -- they said his wounds appeared old and already healing. Police spoke with the man's girlfriend. She said this type of thing always seems to happen to her boyfriend on his payday."

All I want for Christmas is MARTA money: At Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport, a couple approached a police officer. "They stated to me that there was a guy sleeping in the atrium with an offensive body odor," the officer wrote. "As I was walking through the atrium, I could smell him before I even encountered him." The officer woke up the man. "He then tilted his head back and told me, 'Go fuck with some crackers and quit fucking with me.'" The officer ordered him to leave the airport. The man headed to the MARTA station. Then, he turned around and said, "I ain't got no fucking money. You gonna give me some? How the fuck you expect me to leave?" The man, age 48, was arrested for loitering. The officer asked: "What is your business at the airport?" The man replied, "To sleep."

To read more Atlanta blots, click here: http://atlanta.creativeloafing.com/gyrobase/Content?oid=oid%3A346862