Portland transportation bureau hires manager convicted of felony tied to corruption probe
The Portland Transportation Bureau's pick to oversee its construction projects has a felony conviction for lying on tax documents tied to a federal corruption investigation that sent a Beltway councilman to prison.
Prosecutors said Millicent Williams directed $110,000 from the Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit she ran toward an inaugural ball at the request of the councilman, then signed tax forms that misrepresented the money's purpose. Though she pleaded guilty in 2013 and served 15 months of probation, documents show, she was not accused of personally benefiting from the misdirection of funds.
Williams, who now works for a city outside of Dallas, Texas, said she was open with Portland officials about the conviction during the hiring process. As the bureau's capital projects division manager, she will oversee a staff of 12 and manage capital improvement projects that total $60 million to $80 million.
City officials said her career in the nonprofit and public sectors, during which she rose to the post of Washington's director for homeland security, outweighed her criminal history.
Read more: http://www.oregonlive.com/commuting/index.ssf/2016/12/portland_transportation_bureau.html
