On August 9, 2012, a Cobb County Grand Jury indicted former Department of Labor (DOL) employee Peter Brown on one count of Bribery O.C.G.A. 16-10-2(a)(2).

Brown’s responsibilities while employed by DOL included working with and supervising contractors on DOL projects. At some point during the fall of 2011, he solicited $4,000.00 from a contractor he supervised in exchange for future contracts with DOL.

The contractor notified the Office of the Inspector General (OIG), which referred the case to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI). On April 13, 2012, the GBI arranged for the contractor to meet Brown at a Cobb County restaurant. The contractor brought with her $4,000.00 in cash provided by the GBI agents. While meeting with Brown, the contractor took covert audio and video recordings of their conversation, during which Brown accepted the money and made plans for how he was going to help her get future contracts with DOL. GBI agents observed the exchange from outside the restaurant. After the meeting, Brown was arrested.

Bribery carries a minimum of one and a maximum of twenty years in prison, and/or a fine of not more than $5,000.00.

Assistant Attorney General Shepard Orlow is prosecuting the case on behalf of the State of Georgia with the assistance of Anne Berlow. The case was investigated by Deputy Inspector General Bill Donaldson of the OIG and Special Agent Rocky Bigham of the GBI.

Members of the public should keep in mind that indictments contain only allegations against the individual(s) against whom the indictment is sought. A defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty, and it will be the government’s burden at trial to prove the defendant guilty beyond a reasonable doubt of the allegations contained in the indictment.