https://www.nytimes.com/2018/03/06/us/megan-barry-nashville.html
Nashville Mayor Megan Barry Pleads Guilty to Theft and Agrees to Resign
By RICHARD FAUSSET and MITCH SMITHMARCH 6, 2018
NASHVILLE — Mayor Megan Barry of Nashville pleaded guilty to theft of property and agreed to resign on Tuesday after a turbulent five weeks in which she acknowledged having an affair with the head of her security detail and faced persistent questions about whether she misspent taxpayer money.
Ms. Barry agreed to serve three years of probation and pay restitution to the city after pleading guilty to the charge, a felony. Ms. Barry, a Democrat, became the first woman to serve as Nashville’s mayor in 2015 and had been seen until recently as a promising liberal voice in a region where her party has struggled.
Ms. Barry discussed her exit at a brief news conference after her court appearance on Tuesday morning. She did not take questions and did not discuss her decision to plead guilty.
“It has been my honor, and it has been the privilege of my entire professional life, to have the blessing and the opportunity to be your mayor,” Ms. Barry said.
Ms. Barry was a popular and powerful mayor who helped land a Major League Soccer team and was pushing for an expansion of public transportation. But after acknowledging her relationship with former Sgt. Robert Forrest Jr. of the Metro Nashville Police Department, who led the mayoral security detail before retiring in January, much of that support eroded. Ms. Barry was married at the time of the affair, as was Mr. Forrest.
Separately, Mr. Forrest pleaded guilty on Tuesday to the same charge as Ms. Barry, and also received three years of probation. According to prosecutors, Mr. Forrest must give back $45,000 that he was paid improperly “during times when he was not performing his duties.”
Continue reading the main story
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As part of her probation, Ms. Barry must reimburse the local government $11,000 for what prosecutors called “unlawful expenditures.”
Vice Mayor David Briley will be sworn in as mayor on Tuesday afternoon, according to a statement from his office. “This is a hard day for Nashville,” he said in the statement.
While many in Nashville were willing to reserve judgment on the affair itself, questions mounted about whether Ms. Barry improperly took taxpayer-funded trips with Mr. Forrest and whether she gave his daughter preferential treatment when she sought a city job.
The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, at the request of the local prosecutor, was investigating whether Ms. Barry or Mr. Forrest broke any laws concerning misuse of public funds. The City Council voted last month to create a special committee to investigate the trips.
Ms. Barry, 54, a former corporate ethics and compliance officer, was known for her outspoken support of abortion rights and same-sex marriage. Even as calls for her exit mounted, Ms. Barry maintained a public presence in Nashville and brushed aside suggestions that she should quit. On Monday, she posted photos of an appearance at a groundbreaking ceremony for a future solar park.
But Ms. Barry’s words in late January, when she admitted to the affair, eventually proved prophetic. “I know that God will forgive me,” she said then, “but that Nashville doesn’t have to.”
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https://tennesseestar.com/2018/02/0...eece-alone-on-metro-nashville-taxpayer-funds/
Nashville Mayor Megan Barry and her security chief, Rob Forrest, traveled alone together to a conference in Greece in September, several Middle Tennessee media outlets reported on Wednesday.
Forrest and Barry were alone in Athens, Greece for seveb days, from September 12 to September 18, 2017 attending the Athens Democracy Forum & 100RC City Leaders Advisory Committee Meeting, according to documents released by the Mayor’s Office.
During this time, Forrest was paid by the taxpayers of Metro Nashville/Davidson County to provide security for Mayor Barry. Forrest’s travel and lodging expenses were paid for by Metro Nashville/Davidson County. It is not clear whether taxpayers or a private foundation paid for Mayor Barry’s travel and lodging for the Athens, Greece trip.
“Documents released by her office show that from January 2017 until present, over $30,000 taxpayer dollars were spent on Barry and Sgt. Forrest’s travel expenses. Barry took 30 trips in total, 7 of which were personal to visit her son or take vacation with friends, while 9 were with Sgt. Forrest alone, including a trip to Greece, reportedly for the Athens Democracy Forum,” WKRN reported.
“During 2017, travel records show Forrest traveled with the mayor to San Francisco, Salt Lake City, Denver, Washington several times, as well as New York. In September, he flew with her to Athens, Greece. The next month, he traveled to Paris all, at taxpayer expense,” NewsChannel 5 reported.
According to the documents released by the Mayor’s Office, Barry and Forrest were alone together on eight additional taxpayer funded trips in 2017:
During 30 trips beyond Nashville taken by Mayor Barry in 2017, Forrest was the only Metro Nashville employee who ever traveled alone with the mayor. In every other trip where she was accompanied by a Metro Nashville security officer other than Forrest, either another security officer, another Metro Nashville official, or a paid consultant to Metro Nashville was present.
At a press conference at the Nashville Metro Court House Wednesday night, when asked if their had been any “personal engagement” while Forrest was “on the clock,” Barry said “No.”
Mayor Barry was not asked at the press conference if Forrest was “on the clock” the entire time the two were together alone in Athens, Greece, nor was she asked if any “personal engagement” between the two lovers took place at any time during the Metro Nashville taxpayer funded trip.
She was also not asked if anyone in the Mayor’s Office raised red flags prior to the trip to Athens if it was appropriate for Mayor Barry and Forrest to travel together alone on a seven day international trip.
“Barry told her staff about the affair Wednesday afternoon and then held a 16-minute early evening news conference, where several of the mayor’s aides and a handful of council members watched. Barry addressed the media standing on a stage alone without her husband, Bruce Barry, in the room,” The Tennessean reported.
When asked at the press conference when the affair ended she just replied “it’s over” and did not answer further. When asked how it ended she again responded only that “it’s over” and provided no explanation.
“It started several months after I came into my administration,” Barry said of the affair at her press conference. She was elected in September 2015.
The mayor had a slightly different version of the timeline in an exclusive interview earlier in the day with NewsChannel 5.
“The relationship started shortly after I came into the Mayor’s office,” Barry told NewsChannel 5’s Phil Williams.
Late Wednesday, The Tennessean reported “She [Mayor Barry] confirmed the affair with Metro police Sgt. Robert Forrest Jr., which began in the spring or summer of 2016, just months after she entered office the previous fall. Forrest submitted his retirement papers Jan. 17. His final day was Wednesday.”
She was asked at the press conference if she had spoken to Forrest’s wife about the affair, and she said “no.”
At her press conference, Mayor Barry did not answer questions from reporters about the reasons for the timing of her lover’s retirement as security chief, referring them to Mr. Forrest.
In a letter released by his attorneys on Wednesday, Forrest said “I have recently retired from the police department. I hope that the media and public respect my privacy and that of my family as I seek to rebuild the trust of the ones I love the most.”
“Barry and Forrest are both married. Barry said the relationship was discovered during conversations between their spouses and private discussions,” The Tennessean noted.
NewsChannel 5 noted that before Mayor Barry, ” Forrest provided protection for former Mayors Bill Purcell and Karl Dean.”
Nashville Mayor Megan Barry Pleads Guilty to Theft and Agrees to Resign
By RICHARD FAUSSET and MITCH SMITHMARCH 6, 2018
NASHVILLE — Mayor Megan Barry of Nashville pleaded guilty to theft of property and agreed to resign on Tuesday after a turbulent five weeks in which she acknowledged having an affair with the head of her security detail and faced persistent questions about whether she misspent taxpayer money.
Ms. Barry agreed to serve three years of probation and pay restitution to the city after pleading guilty to the charge, a felony. Ms. Barry, a Democrat, became the first woman to serve as Nashville’s mayor in 2015 and had been seen until recently as a promising liberal voice in a region where her party has struggled.
Ms. Barry discussed her exit at a brief news conference after her court appearance on Tuesday morning. She did not take questions and did not discuss her decision to plead guilty.
“It has been my honor, and it has been the privilege of my entire professional life, to have the blessing and the opportunity to be your mayor,” Ms. Barry said.
Ms. Barry was a popular and powerful mayor who helped land a Major League Soccer team and was pushing for an expansion of public transportation. But after acknowledging her relationship with former Sgt. Robert Forrest Jr. of the Metro Nashville Police Department, who led the mayoral security detail before retiring in January, much of that support eroded. Ms. Barry was married at the time of the affair, as was Mr. Forrest.
Separately, Mr. Forrest pleaded guilty on Tuesday to the same charge as Ms. Barry, and also received three years of probation. According to prosecutors, Mr. Forrest must give back $45,000 that he was paid improperly “during times when he was not performing his duties.”
Continue reading the main story
Related Coverage
‘I Know That God Will Forgive Me,’ the Nashville Mayor Says. But Will the Voters? FEB. 6, 2018
Megan Barry Becomes First Female Mayor of Nashville in Runoff SEPT. 11, 2015
As part of her probation, Ms. Barry must reimburse the local government $11,000 for what prosecutors called “unlawful expenditures.”
Vice Mayor David Briley will be sworn in as mayor on Tuesday afternoon, according to a statement from his office. “This is a hard day for Nashville,” he said in the statement.
While many in Nashville were willing to reserve judgment on the affair itself, questions mounted about whether Ms. Barry improperly took taxpayer-funded trips with Mr. Forrest and whether she gave his daughter preferential treatment when she sought a city job.
The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, at the request of the local prosecutor, was investigating whether Ms. Barry or Mr. Forrest broke any laws concerning misuse of public funds. The City Council voted last month to create a special committee to investigate the trips.
Ms. Barry, 54, a former corporate ethics and compliance officer, was known for her outspoken support of abortion rights and same-sex marriage. Even as calls for her exit mounted, Ms. Barry maintained a public presence in Nashville and brushed aside suggestions that she should quit. On Monday, she posted photos of an appearance at a groundbreaking ceremony for a future solar park.
But Ms. Barry’s words in late January, when she admitted to the affair, eventually proved prophetic. “I know that God will forgive me,” she said then, “but that Nashville doesn’t have to.”
----------------------
https://tennesseestar.com/2018/02/0...eece-alone-on-metro-nashville-taxpayer-funds/
Nashville Mayor Megan Barry and her security chief, Rob Forrest, traveled alone together to a conference in Greece in September, several Middle Tennessee media outlets reported on Wednesday.
Forrest and Barry were alone in Athens, Greece for seveb days, from September 12 to September 18, 2017 attending the Athens Democracy Forum & 100RC City Leaders Advisory Committee Meeting, according to documents released by the Mayor’s Office.
During this time, Forrest was paid by the taxpayers of Metro Nashville/Davidson County to provide security for Mayor Barry. Forrest’s travel and lodging expenses were paid for by Metro Nashville/Davidson County. It is not clear whether taxpayers or a private foundation paid for Mayor Barry’s travel and lodging for the Athens, Greece trip.
“Documents released by her office show that from January 2017 until present, over $30,000 taxpayer dollars were spent on Barry and Sgt. Forrest’s travel expenses. Barry took 30 trips in total, 7 of which were personal to visit her son or take vacation with friends, while 9 were with Sgt. Forrest alone, including a trip to Greece, reportedly for the Athens Democracy Forum,” WKRN reported.
“During 2017, travel records show Forrest traveled with the mayor to San Francisco, Salt Lake City, Denver, Washington several times, as well as New York. In September, he flew with her to Athens, Greece. The next month, he traveled to Paris all, at taxpayer expense,” NewsChannel 5 reported.
According to the documents released by the Mayor’s Office, Barry and Forrest were alone together on eight additional taxpayer funded trips in 2017:
During 30 trips beyond Nashville taken by Mayor Barry in 2017, Forrest was the only Metro Nashville employee who ever traveled alone with the mayor. In every other trip where she was accompanied by a Metro Nashville security officer other than Forrest, either another security officer, another Metro Nashville official, or a paid consultant to Metro Nashville was present.
At a press conference at the Nashville Metro Court House Wednesday night, when asked if their had been any “personal engagement” while Forrest was “on the clock,” Barry said “No.”
Mayor Barry was not asked at the press conference if Forrest was “on the clock” the entire time the two were together alone in Athens, Greece, nor was she asked if any “personal engagement” between the two lovers took place at any time during the Metro Nashville taxpayer funded trip.
She was also not asked if anyone in the Mayor’s Office raised red flags prior to the trip to Athens if it was appropriate for Mayor Barry and Forrest to travel together alone on a seven day international trip.
“Barry told her staff about the affair Wednesday afternoon and then held a 16-minute early evening news conference, where several of the mayor’s aides and a handful of council members watched. Barry addressed the media standing on a stage alone without her husband, Bruce Barry, in the room,” The Tennessean reported.
When asked at the press conference when the affair ended she just replied “it’s over” and did not answer further. When asked how it ended she again responded only that “it’s over” and provided no explanation.
“It started several months after I came into my administration,” Barry said of the affair at her press conference. She was elected in September 2015.
The mayor had a slightly different version of the timeline in an exclusive interview earlier in the day with NewsChannel 5.
“The relationship started shortly after I came into the Mayor’s office,” Barry told NewsChannel 5’s Phil Williams.
Late Wednesday, The Tennessean reported “She [Mayor Barry] confirmed the affair with Metro police Sgt. Robert Forrest Jr., which began in the spring or summer of 2016, just months after she entered office the previous fall. Forrest submitted his retirement papers Jan. 17. His final day was Wednesday.”
She was asked at the press conference if she had spoken to Forrest’s wife about the affair, and she said “no.”
At her press conference, Mayor Barry did not answer questions from reporters about the reasons for the timing of her lover’s retirement as security chief, referring them to Mr. Forrest.
In a letter released by his attorneys on Wednesday, Forrest said “I have recently retired from the police department. I hope that the media and public respect my privacy and that of my family as I seek to rebuild the trust of the ones I love the most.”
“Barry and Forrest are both married. Barry said the relationship was discovered during conversations between their spouses and private discussions,” The Tennessean noted.
NewsChannel 5 noted that before Mayor Barry, ” Forrest provided protection for former Mayors Bill Purcell and Karl Dean.”
