The indicted former head of Lilburn’s Downtown Development Authority was also a prominent member for more than two decades of the Gwinnett County board that determines land values.
Norman Nash, who was indicted on bribery charges involving land deals in Lilburn, is still listed as chair of the county Board of Assessors. A member of the board, Burt Manning, said Friday that Nash had not been at the last meeting and had resigned from his role.
Steve Pruitt, Gwinnett’s former chief appraiser, said Nash had been on the board since at least 1998, when Pruitt came to the county. Pruitt described Nash as “a very nice guy and very professional.” Pruitt said he did not think any member of the Board of Assessors, including Nash, had the ability to manipulate land values.
“He’s just one of five members,” Pruitt said.
But others had concerns about Nash’s influence.
Nash, along with broker David Kennedy and Doug Stacks, the former assistant city manager in Lilburn, were indicted on 16 counts of bribery among them, as part of a scheme that allegedly defrauded the city.
The charges includes deals that took place between November 2014 and December 2018. While the incidents laid out there total more than $228,000, an Atlanta Journal-Constitution investigation shows the group appear to have netted more than $640,000 through land deals, much of it at the city’s expense.
Hugh Wilkerson, a member of the Lilburn Downtown Development Authority, said Nash’s role on the county board had always bothered him — even before the indictment. Nash’s family owned a lot of land throughout the county, Wilkerson said, and he always thought Nash’s position on the board that values property in Gwinnett was a conflict of interest.
“I don’t know if he did anything bad or wrong,” Wilkerson said. “I just thought that was not good. ...In light of what has all happened, it makes you think about it.”
Mike Beaudreau, a former Gwinnett County commissioner who beat Stacks in a 2008 runoff, said he trusted Pruitt — but that there was “obviously a concern” with Nash’s tenure on the board.
“It begs the question,” Beaudreau said. “It’s just an accusation, but certainly it’s a troubling accusation.”
Part of Nash’s alleged plan — buying land then reselling it to the Downtown Development Authority the same day, for a profit — echoes a scheme that ensnared some of Beaudreau’s former commission colleagues. The former chair, Charles Bannister, was also a former mayor of Lilburn. Bannister was close with Nash’s son, Jim Nash.
“There’s an awful lot of connections,” Beaudreau said. “You’d think folks would learn. It’s awful. It’s just another stain on our community.”
Danny Porter, the former Gwinnett County district attorney who investigated Nash and others said he did not know about Nash’s county role, but that others in his office might have. He said as far as he knew, any dealings with the Board of Assessors were not part of the investigation.
The current district attorney, Patsy Austin-Gatson, said she is aware of Nash’s role there, but didn’t want to comment because there was an ongoing investigation.
Lilburn City Manager Bill Johnsa said he was not “unconcerned” by Nash’s county role, but that he thought land values would be hard to manipulate.
Manning, the member of the Board of Assessors, said he hadn’t seen Nash taking advantage during his three years on the board.
Like Pruitt, Manning said Nash would not have been able to control other board members as they decided whether county employees had appropriately valued land across Gwinnett.
“I hadn’t even considered it,” Manning said. “Nothing’s come to light. I am truly not expecting anything we need to look at in that manner.”
Such boards have layers of checks and balances to ensure there is no wrongdoing, said Salma Ahmed, a member of Fulton County’s Board of Assessors and its former chair.
“You’d have to convince other people on the board,” she said. “You’d have to subvert it at every level.”
About the Author
