Observer: Secret recording picks up Fayetteville councilman asking for $15K
A secret recording released Friday revealed that Fayetteville City Councilman Tyrone Williams told the project manager for the Prince Charles redevelopment that an apparent issue over the property’s title would go away for $15,000.
The 45-minute meeting on Dec. 21, which project manager Jordan Jones recorded and gave to law enforcement, triggered an FBI investigation and cast doubt over whether Williams’ votes related to the project are valid.
LISTEN: Secret tape: Fayetteville councilman asks for $15K
Jones’ lawyer, Lonnie Player, gave a copy of the recording to The Fayetteville Observer on Friday “in the spirit of transparency and so no one need continue to speculate what happened here.” City Council members and other city officials have been aware of the existence of the recording, but none said they had heard the tape before Friday.
Jones, a partner with Prince Charles Holdings investor group, was contacted by marketing businessman T.J. Jenkins on Dec. 12. Jenkins told Jones there was a “cloud on the title” for the former Prince Charles Hotel, and he invited Jones to a meeting with Williams at his downtown office.
“So what we were saying was we basically come to the table as quietly and figure out how we can get this resolved,” Jenkins said on the recording. “The thing I don’t want is anybody public getting wind of it, and they are like, ‘Whoa! What have we?’ And then it opens up a can of worms. And you got taxpayers who are saying, ‘Why are we doing this? Why are we doing that?’ And there are questions.”
Jenkins said that that the matter should remain private, and Williams agreed.
“Want to make sure you two was here, so we can make sure we do this as quiet as possible,” Jenkins said. “No public image. No public knowledge. So that way … you know you line up for scrutiny when you start doing that.”
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