Douglas County bid-rigging trial: Secret recording played to jury

DOUGLAS COUNTY, Georgia. – Douglas County jurors heard a recording Monday morning that was secretly made in 2018 by former Douglas County Administrator Mark Teal.

It involved a conversation between Teal and former Douglas County Purchasing Director Bill Peacock. Peacock was originally charged in the case, but his case was separated from those of the other defendants and he was granted immunity in exchange for his testimony.

Teal said the two had discussed a caretaker contract with Anthony Knight.

“He said the scope that was attached to the contract was not the scope he bid on,” Peacock said in the recording, referring to Knight.

In the recording, Teal questioned how two companies could bid exactly the same amount in a re-bid process. He said he received two bids and sent them to Tax Commissioner Greg Baker, a co-defendant in the case. Baker reportedly received a third bid directly from Knight.

“The lowest offer I sent him was $2,100. Anthony's offer was $2,100,” Teal said on the recording.

“How does this happen?” Peacock replied.

“Very, very unlikely,” Teal replied.

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The state is trying to prove that Baker, now-suspended Douglas County Executive Dr. Romonna Jackson Jones, and suspended County Commissioner Henry Mitchell worked together to get Knight the contract for cleaning services at the Douglas County Annex.

Knight is also charged in the case. The prosecution presented several emails as evidence of the action on Monday.

“The chairman just called and said we treated Mr. Anthony unfairly,” Teal wrote in an email he read in court on Monday. “We called him at the last minute and added more duties to the contract. I told the chairman that if we did that at the last minute, we would let everyone know.”

Teal testified that he believed there were several problems with the bidding process and ultimately with Knight's contract. Teal said that after the contract was awarded, there were problems with the cleanup work performed by Knight's team.

“Wow, would you classify this dispute as a labor dispute?” prosecutors asked Teal.

“It was ridiculous and didn’t even come close to the scope of work,” Teal replied.