Lawsuit settlement draws attention to Glenn Jacobs.
There’s a story up on the ‘Knox News’ site which is centered around a lawsuit settlement involving a county-owned golf cart that led to spotlight being put on Knox County Mayor Glenn ‘Kane’ Jacobs.
Per the 134-page filing, Jacobs asked county employees to work at his home while they were on the clock, pressured a department head to lie to a state investigator about a county-owned golf cart and shouted at him when he would not cooperate.
The suit was settled by the county agreeing to pay $150,000 to former Parks and Recreations Director Paul White.
The work that was being done on Jacobs’ home was to remove a snake that was worrying his wife Crystal. Paul White had text messages with both Jacobs and his wife about going to remove the snake.
White, Mike Edsell and Chuck James were at Jacobs’ house for ‘about two hours’ trying get rid of the snake. The county, in response to the suit, said Jacobs told White the work should be done on their lunch break, not on county time. Jacobs was later told by Chuck James that it was done on their lunch break.
The golf cart situation comes into play because of Bryan Hair, Jacobs’ ex-Chief of Staff, who was accused of using a county-owned golf cart at his home.
According to White, Jacobs encouraged him to lie to state investigators about Hair’s illegal use of the golf cart. White claims Jacobs pounded on his desk and shouted at him when he refused to lie.
Bryan Hair did return the golf cart, but White claims he planned on telling investigators he gave it up months prior. White said Bryan pressured him to say he only had the cart for a few weeks and threatened to fire him if he did not comply. County spokesperson Abbey Harris denied White’s allegation about Jacobs pressuring him.
Edsell lost his job, Paul White was fired as well.
Bryan Hair resigned from his Chief of Staff role. Hair pleaded guilty to misconduct. He has a sentence hearing scheduled for December 16th. The charge he is facing is a class E felony, minimum of one year jail sentence. Hair is applying for probation and judicial diversion.
