A former Atlanta official was convicted of bribery and conspiracy to commit bribery after prosecutors said she accepted cash and luxurious gifts from a city contractor. Charges are also pending against the contractor.
A federal jury in Atlanta found Jo Ann Macrina guilty of the charges on Oct. 14. Macrina was commissioner of the Atlanta Dept. of Watershed Management from 2011 until 2016. During her time leading the department, prosecutors say Macrina accepted valuable items from Lohrasb “Jeff” Jafari, then the executive vice president of Atlanta-based design, engineering and construction management firm PRAD Group Inc. The two also discussed Macrina’s potential employment with the company. In turn, she ensured PRAD and its joint ventures received city contracts worth millions of dollars.