Ex-Stonecrest mayor disqualified from city council race after conviction
Former Stonecrest Mayor Jason Lary is running for a spot on the city council. (FOX 5)
STONECREST, Ga. - Former Stonecrest Mayor Jason Lary, who served prison time for stealing federal COVID-19 relief funds, has been disqualified from running for city council, according to The Atlanta Journal Constitution.
What we know:
Lary, 62, had qualified in August to run for the District 5 council seat, just months after being released from federal prison in February. In 2022, he was sentenced to 57 months behind bars after admitting he diverted nearly $1 million in pandemic aid. Prosecutors said he pressured local churches and businesses to kick back portions of their grants to companies he secretly controlled.
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The backstory:
Federal investigators said Lary used his influence as mayor to decide how $6.2 million in CARES Act funds were distributed. In one case, a church was awarded $150,000 but was told to return a third of it to a company linked to Lary. He resigned as mayor before his sentencing.
Two DeKalb County residents challenged his candidacy before the elections board last week, arguing that his fraud conviction made him ineligible. The board agreed, citing his federal conviction and ruling that he could not appear on the ballot.
Lary, who was released earlier this year and is now serving a three-year supervised release term, had hoped to stage a political comeback in the city he helped create. A former health care executive, he was instrumental in persuading lawmakers to establish Stonecrest along Interstate 20 and became its first and only mayor, winning two terms before his resignation.
What's next:
The District 5 race will now move forward without him. Incumbent Tammy Grimes, along with challengers Karmesha Washington Smith and Diana Adoma, remain in the running.