Bishop's family ties in question

ATLANTA --- Relatives of U.S. Rep. Sanford Bishop were employed by a local youth program to which he steered federal funding, and state authorities have launched an investigation into possible misappropriation of funds at the program.

The Georgia Bureau of Investigation has said the investigation is focused on the Muscogee County Junior Marshal program based in Columbus.

Mr. Bishop has said he had no idea his stepdaughter, Aayesha Owens Reese, worked for the program and said he immediately told the marshal to terminate her employment when he learned of the situation.

The Columbus Ledger-Enquirer reported Wednesday that Ms. Reese's husband had also worked for the program and that his paycheck was deposited directly into the bank account of his mother-in-law, Vivian Creighton Bishop -- the congressman's wife and clerk of the Columbus Municipal Court.

Mr. Bishop, a Democrat first elected in 1992, has not responded to several requests for comment in the days since an audit detailed additional family connections to the program. His spokeswoman said Thursday and Friday he had a full schedule and was unable to comment.

The internal audit of the Muscogee County Junior Marshal program revealed more than $7,000 was deposited into the account of Mr. Bishop's wife on behalf of her son-in-law, Stephen M. Reese, according to Columbus city attorneys. The audit also revealed Mr. Bishop's stepdaughter was paid $7,575 from the program.

Authorities say the pair live in the Atlanta suburb of Lithonia, which is more than 100 miles from Columbus. Several telephone messages left this week at the couple's home were not returned.

"The distance raises eyebrows," said Jaimie DeLoach, the assistant city attorney in Columbus. "The investigation hasn't found any other problems, but it's still an ongoing investigation by the internal auditor and the GBI."

Georgia Bureau of Investigation spokesman John Bankhead said authorities were alerted to the audit by the marshal's office and that investigators are "doing a preliminary review to see whether there would be a violation of Georgia's laws concerning a misappropriation of funds."

FBI spokesman Steve Lazarus would not comment on whether federal agents are involved in the investigation.

Mr. Bishop said Wednesday he had no idea his stepdaughter was on the payroll until Feb. 20. He said his wife's office was next door to the marshal and that she was familiar with the program.

"It's my understanding that she was aware that the jobs were available, that there were openings," he said. "She may have alerted them that they might want to apply."

Mr. Bishop also said he was frustrated that he wasn't informed of the work.

"I would love for her to have discussed it with me, in which case it would probably not have happened," he said, referring to his stepdaughter. "She didn't tell me, and I didn't know. It's a sore spot."

Mr. Bishop is a member of the influential Appropriations Committee with wide discretion over hundreds of millions of dollars spent in Georgia. He has worked to steer earmarks to the junior marshal program, including $117,500 last year and another $75,000 in the fiscal 2009 spending bill now moving through Congress.