Mayor Bob Young readily acknowledges that a 2 1/2 -page endorsement of Chief Few, which he wrote and submitted to the Washington mayor's office in September 2000, was an embellishment of the truth and an effort to rid Augusta of an uncooperative and ego-driven department leader.

A spokesman for Mr. Williams said Thursday he was "appalled" and "dumbfounded" that Mr. Young would admit to misrepresenting an employee in an effort to pawn him off on another government.

"If he did not believe in what he was saying, how dare he put his name to it," said Tony Bullock, a spokesman for Mr. Williams. "What possible benefit is it to come back into this debate and announce at the top of your lungs that you lied? Because effectively, that's what he did. He lied to this city about his support of Chief Few."

Washington officials became aware of Mr. Young's sentiments when they appeared in a Thursday article that ran in The Washington Post. Mr. Young also spoke to the issue on a Washington-area radio talk show Thursday morning and is again scheduled to appear on The D.C. Politics Hour at noon today on WAMU-FM in Washington.

A report that blasts Chief Few for questionable spending, unfair hiring and political posturing was released Tuesday by the Richmond County special grand jury.

Washington officials were aware of the investigation and Chief Few's involvement in it prior to his hiring, but dismissed its accusations as racially motivated, in part, because of Mr. Young's letters and the testimony of several Augusta commissioners, Mr. Bullock said.

"Chief Few rose to the occasion, and in some cases, people forced to confront change became angry," Mr. Young's letter from September 2000 said. "His detractors used general disagreements, race, and other non-issues to discredit the chief. In fact, the Grand Jury Investigation serves as a prime example."

The recommendation was written at Chief Few's request, revised slightly once it reached the Washington mayor's office and then forgotten about, Mr. Young said.

Washington Mayor Anthony Williams says Mayor Young pawned off an employee. SPECIAL

"Nobody ever called me, not the search outfit or whoever," he said. "At the point when I wrote the letter, my perception of what the issues were was that Ronnie couldn't get along with the other department heads. To me, (the recommendation) was a way to help solve a problem and help him move on."

He said the allegations brought to light by a recently released special grand jury report weren't even on his radar screen when Chief Few left nearly two years ago. But, he said, that didn't mean he wanted the chief to stay in Augusta.

"There was not one person who stood up and waved a flag and said, maybe we need to give him a salary increase to keep him here," Mr. Young said. "Everybody wanted to help Ronnie go to Washington."

Mr. Williams' office says that's a poor excuse.

"There was no secret that Chief Few was being considered for the job, and if Bob Young had something to say, if he (wrote) a 2 1/2 -page statement, we're going to take that at face value unless he wrote at the bottom, 'Just kidding. Please ignore'," Mr. Bullock said.

He also said Mr. Young might be guilty of making false statements, in part, because his recommendation was entered into testimony taken during Chief Few's confirmation hearing.

"I've been in politics and government for 22 years, and I've never seen anything quite as ludicrous," Mr. Bullock said. "Mayor Williams resented the comments he read in the paper this morning from Mayor Young. There's a level of respect that doesn't seem to be understood."

Reach Heidi Coryell Williams at (706) 823-3215 or heidi.williams@augustachronicle.com.