Gwinnett commissioner pleads to federal charges

ATLANTA — A Gwinnett County commissioner recently pleaded guilty to federal charges that she accepted bribes in exchange for her support for a proposed real estate development in her district, according to the feds.

Shirley Lasseter, 64, of Duluth, pleaded guilty on May 31. Two others — Lasseter’s son, John Fanning, 34, of Dacula, and Carl “Skip” Cain, 65, of Flowery Branch, an associate of Lasseter — also pleaded guilty to participating in the bribery scheme and to drug trafficking.

These “guilty pleas are part of an on-going effort to root out public corruption in Gwinnett County,” U.S. Attorney Sally Yates, said in a news release. “The citizens of Gwinnett County have a right to elected officials who serve the public. Instead, these defendants used the office of a County Commissioner to line their pockets by taking payoffs from individuals whom they believed to be drug traffickers. These defendants broke the public trust and the law. We will continue to aggressively pursue corrupt public officials and those who conspire with them.”

Lasseter is scheduled to be sentenced in August.