National Conference of Black Mayors calls for director to resign – Atlanta News, Weather, Traffic, and Sports | FOX 5

Atlanta News, Weather, Traffic, and Sports | FOX 5

ATLANTA, Ga. – The head of the National Conference of Black Mayors has filed court papers accusing his director of running up some $600,000 in questionable business expenses. Twenty-one mayors across the nation are now calling for the resignation of Vanessa Williams.

FOX 5 senior I-Team reporter Dale Russell first broke the story of the Atlanta-based political organization’s staggering debt. Auditors who are well aware of that debt have uncovered an eye-opening shopping list that includes everything from Saks Fifth Avenue and Tiffany’s to private school tuition.

The FOX I-Team’s previous report detailed how the National Conference of Black Mayors left a trail of debt across the country. Angry vendors, years of unpaid bills, bounced checks, court judgments, and tax liens, totaling nearly $1 million.

Executive director Vanessa Williams blamed the debt on embezzlement by a former board member. But during their most recent convention in Atlanta, the board elected Sacramento Mayor and former NBA All-Star Kevin Johnson as its new president, and created a task force to investigate the debt.

As board president, Mayor Johnson sued Vanessa Williams, saying she wouldn’t cooperate. She filed a counterclaim saying Mayor Johnson was improperly elected. In July, Fulton County Judge Christopher Brasher ordered Ms. Williams to turn over the financial records.

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