Former Atlanta official to go to prison for accepting bribes

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Atlanta City Hall

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A former Atlanta city official charged in a federal investigation into corruption at City Hall during the administration of then-Mayor Kasim Reed was sentenced Friday to four and a half years in prison for accepting bribes.

Jo Ann Macrina, 66, served as commissioner of the city Department of Watershed Management from 2011 through May 2016. During that time, she accepted bribes from an architectural, design, and construction management and services firm in exchange for city business, according to a news release from the U.S. attorney's office in Atlanta.

She was charged as part of an investigation into corruption at City Hall that resulted in charges against numerous people, including some high-ranking members of Reed's administration. The former mayor himself was never charged.

While others caught up in the federal corruption investigation pleaded guilty, Macrina was the second former city official to go to trial. A jury found her guilty in October on charges of conspiracy and federal program bribery.

Macrina, who now lives in Daytona Beach, Florida, provided confidential information to the city contractor's vice president and gave the company preferential treatment for city projects. In return, prosecutors said, she received gifts, including $10,000, a diamond ring, a room at a luxury hotel in Dubai and landscaping work at her home.

After her prison term, Macrina will spend three years on supervised release, and she was also ordered to pay $40,000 in restitution.