CHARLOTTE — Over the past couple of months, Mayor Vi Lyles informally asked her colleagues whether they would be interested in extending the contract for Interim City Attorney Anthony Fox. That hasn’t happened yet. But Fox finds himself under public scrutiny after sources say he recommended the city settle with Chief Johnny Jennings.
The one investigation would be into a leak from a closed session, and the other investigation into claims made by Councilmember Victoria Watlington about “unethical, immoral, and frankly illegal behavior.”
“The allegations of illegal corruption are very important,” Fox told reporters. “And we have to take those seriously.”
The council and CMPD are in turmoil after Channel 9 broke the news that the Charlotte City Council secretly voted to settle a potential lawsuit from Chief Johnny Jennings. Jennings was upset about how he was treated by then-councilman Tariq Bokhari during the debate over outer carrier vests for officers.
Fox has not committed to publicly releasing the settlement amount with Chief Johnny Jennings, but says he will follow the law.
Charlotte has released settlements before. In fact, in 2015, the attorney and mayor at the time held a news conference to share the details of a multi-million-dollar settlement to Jonathan Ferrell’s family. Ferrell was shot and killed by a CMPD officer.
While the city of Charlotte has not officially released the settlement, a Charlotte City Councilmember says it was $300,000. Councilmember Tiawana Brown shared the figure on Facebook over the weekend. The city of Charlotte has not confirmed the amount.
As for the leak investigation, the interim city attorney says he may have to hire outside counsel if this is something the Charlotte City Council wants to do. Councilman Malcolm Graham called for this during last week’s press conference.
All of this drama puts Fox in the spotlight for the first time as interim attorney. While he is in a public-facing role now, he has long engaged in matters behind the scenes.
He is a frequent donor in Charlotte City Council elections. The mayor received a total of $4,000 from him, dating back to 2017. He has also donated to Councilmembers Ajmera, Graham, Johnson, Molina, Mayfield, and Watlington. Campaign finance records show he also previously donated $100 to former Councilman Tariq Bokhari.
Fox is being paid more than $168,000 for his 6-month contract. It expires at the end of June, and he told Eyewitness News reporter Joe Bruno that when July comes, he will be finished.
“Retirement awaits me,” he said.
As for the closed session investigation, Charlotte has investigated personnel leaks before. But no one went to jail. In 2016, the city reprimanded then-fire chief Jon Hannan and placed him on a 3-month probation after leaking a confidential memo about one of his firefighters.
A spokesperson for the city of Charlotte has not yet responded to multiple questions for this article.
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