Over a decade ago, Trussville mayoral candidate J.T. Smallwood was accused in a U.S. District Court case of "egregious" cronyism.
On August 20, 2013, Judge C. Lynwood Smith held Jefferson County in contempt of its federal consent decree governing its hiring and employment practices. Among the sanctions, the ruling placed the county under a receivership that would remain in place for five years.
One of the factors cited was, in the judge’s own words, “The record also contains evidence of at least one egregious example of cronyism after the adoption of the Anti-Nepotism Policy. Specifically, the position of 'Director of Tax Collections' became vacant in the Spring of 2007 due to the retirement of the previous Director.”
"The hiring decision for the Director of Tax Collection position was made by J.T. Smallwood, the Tax Collector, an elected official," the judge explained before laying out in painstaking detail how a highly qualified candidate already working in the office was passed over for the position for a long-time close family friend of Smallwood.
Smallwood is currently running for mayor of Trussville.
The internal candidate, a black woman, "had worked closely with the previous Director of Tax Collection, and she was familiar with the day-to-day operations of the office."
The candidate hired was Smallwood’s appointee, John Delucia, who served as his chief deputy tax collector. According to the order, his experience before that appointment was as a law clerk for Mr. Smallwood’s father, the late Jefferson County Circuit Judge T.M. Smallwood. Delucia was listed in Judge Smallwood's obituary as an "Honorary Son."
Within months of the court's findings, Delucia made the news again when he was charged with aggravated child abuse.
According to WBRC, "Jefferson County deputy tax collector has been indicted on two counts of aggravated child abuse. John Delucia turned himself in on December 12. His bond was set at $120,000, and he bonded out the same day. His attorney says he plans to fight the charges." The charges did not appear to change his employment status under Smallwood.
During an interview with the Trussville Tribune published on Wednesday, Smallwood challenged anyone to find proof that he was called for a deposition in the case, offering $10,000. While he didn’t testify, there was another witness.
The human resources director, Demetrius Taylor, was deposed. Parts of her testimony were cited and quoted in the order with the judge saying, "during her 2012 trial testimony, Ms. Taylor acknowledged the obvious: the interview process appeared to be a "setup," designed to create questions that would elicit favorable responses from Mr. DeLucia and lead to his selection for the position." Smallwood blew off the testimony as well, saying that the witness "profited off that."
He called the whole thing a "DEI Case" brought by lawyers in New York. According to media reports from the time, "Shelia Smoot, former Jefferson County commissioner, said Wednesday she was the person who reported consent decree violations to attorneys representing groups who had sued the county over its employment practices." The main witnesses were whistleblowers seeking a remedy for wrongful practices and city employees who confirmed the practices were problematic.
The most shocking part of Smallwood's response was his defamation of the qualified candidate who was passed over so that his friend could get the job. Smallwood said of her, “The person had a history of filing grievances and complaints.”
He went on to call the allegations of cronyism against him "politically motivated," and said that they had "no foundational merit."
Malinda Parker is currently serving on the Jefferson County Commission in a supervisory capacity as finance director.
"We appreciate Malinda Parker's over 25 years of service to Jefferson County and believe she has done a great job as Director of Finance," County manager Cal Markert told 1819 News in response to Smallwood's accusations. "We also appreciate her years of service and the experience she brings to the County in over 36 years of service in the Alabama National Guard."
Jeffco Order - Smallwood by aprylmarie.fogel on Scribd
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