WASHINGTON — Former Councilman Jack Evans owes $20,000 in unpaid fines to the D.C. Board of Ethics and Government Accountability for his settlement, according to Rochelle Ford, director of the Office of Government Ethics in D.C.
Evans initially owed a total of $55,000 in fines for his ethics violations after reaching two settlements that allowed him to avoid a public hearing for his violation of the D.C. Council's Code of Conduct.
The first $20,000 was due in August and Evans has only made a payment of $2,000 towards the overdue balance of his first settlement, Ford told WUSA9. Evans has until June to pay the second settlement of $35,000 from his total payment.
The Board of Ethics and Government Accountability (BEGA) has since reported the unpaid overdue balance to the D.C. Attorney General Office (OAG).
WUSA9 reached out to the OAG's office and they said they received a referral from the Board of Ethics and Government Accountability regarding Evan's case. They said it is under review and cannot comment further on the ongoing investigation.
In 2019, Evans was accused of exploiting his office in order to line his pockets from special interest groups and had several ethical violations dating back to 2014.
In November 2019, councilmembers hired O’Melveny & Myers law firm, who poured over 240,000-260,000 documents to investigate Evans, according to Councilmember Mary Cheh's office. The 266-page report and investigation cost taxpayers $250,000.
The following month, the D.C. Council unanimously voted to recommend Evans be expelled for ethical violations. The vote was the first step for expulsion. And on Jan. 17, 2020, Evans announced his resignation.
Evans released a lengthy response to the report made by O’Melveny & Myers law firm, addressing many of the allegations, and claiming the report's conclusions are wrong, misapply the law and/or make up new requirements. He stated any errors on his part were minor oversights, corrected immediately upon discovery.
Here are the 11 alleged incidents of ethics violations:
1. In 2015, Evans, on three occasions, took official actions to influence or attempt to influence support for the Pepco-Exelon merger while negotiating for employment (and later after gaining employment) with the law firm Manatt, who actively represented Pepco and Exelon in connection with the merger.
2. In August 2016, shortly after the two Digi entities entered into service agreements with NSE, Evans’ staff (with Evans’ knowledge) contacted WMATA to help Digi arrange special after-hours access to the Metro Center station to facilitate Digi’s overnight construction of digital signs after the District government ordered Digi to halt its operations.
3. In November and December 2016, while Squash on Fire and EastBanc, Inc. were NSE clients, Evans twice voted in favor of the West End Parcels Development Omnibus Amendment Act of 2016, which included funds to maintain buildings associated with, or nearby to, the Squash on Fire facility.
4. In early 2017, while EastBanc Technologies was an NSE client, Evans and his staff arranged a meeting between EastBanc Technologies and senior officials at the Office of the Chief Technology Officer, where they could pitch software initiatives that might lead to city contracts.
5. In early 2017, while EastBanc was an NSE client, Evans and his staff, arranged a meeting between Anthony Lanier, President of EastBanc, and Councilmember Kenyan McDuffie, to discuss a potential development project in Ward 5.
6. In March 2017, while Willco was an NSE client, Evans introduced the Relieve High Unemployment Tax Incentives Act of 2017, which included financial incentives for film, television and digital media production facilities that Willco was actively developing.
7. In March 2017, while Willco was an NSE client, Evans and his staff arranged a meeting for Jason Goldblatt, Willco’s President and CEO, and Councilmember McDuffie’s office to discuss Willco’s proposal for a public-private partnership for a sound studio facility in Ward 5.
8. In May 2017, while Willco was an NSE client, Evans and his staff provided assistance to Willco in trying to influence the District Department of Transportation to stop work on a curb installation that would prevent Willco from gaining access to a public alley.
9. In May and June 2017, at a time when Forge (a holding company for Colonial Parking, Inc.) was an NSE client, Evans took official actions through the Finance and Revenue Committee and through votes on the Fiscal Year 2018 Budget Support Act of 2017 to preserve the commercial lot parking tax rate at 18%.
10. In June 2017, while Willco was an NSE client, Evans, at the request of Jason Goldblatt, spoke with a senior official in the Mayor’s office to determine the validity of a rumor about the government not renewing a lease on a Willco property.
11. In June 2017, while Willco was an NSE client, Evans and his staff, at the request of Willco executive Gary Cohen, provided assistance to Willco in obtaining an expedited plumbing permit for a Willco development project.