A federal jury convicted the former City of Atlanta Commissioner of Watershed Management today (October 14, 2022) for accepting bribes from an Atlanta contractor in exchange for steering city business worth millions of dollars to the contractor’s company.
According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, Jo Ann Macrina, 65, of Daytona Beach Shores, Florida, served as the Commissioner of Atlanta’s Department of Watershed Management from 2011 through May 2016. During Macrina’s tenure, the City of Atlanta awarded contracts worth millions of dollars to PRAD Group Inc., an architectural, design, and construction management and services firm based in Atlanta. In order to ensure that PRAD Group received city business worth millions of dollars, Macrina replaced two evaluators who previously represented the Department of Watershed Management with herself and another individual, and engaged in other efforts to alter scores that had previously been assigned to potential contractors.
The evidence presented at trial established that Macrina also discussed potential employment with and accepted things of value from Lohrasb “Jeff” Jafari, who was the executive vice president of PRAD Group, in exchange for providing Jafari with access to confidential information and preferential treatment with respect to City of Atlanta projects. Macrina accepted $10,000 in cash, jewelry, a room at a luxury hotel in Dubai, and landscaping work at her home from Jafari either directly or...
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