Congressman Bishop paid campaign manager through recently indicted Macon business

Three years ago, U.S. Rep. Sanford Bishop paid nearly $100,000 to a company that was indicted in a public corruption probe last week.

Also, a Bibb County businessman who’s under indictment contributed money to Bishop’s 2014 campaign.

Federal Election Commission records show that Bishop, a Democrat who represents Georgia’s 2nd Congressional District, paid about $61,000 to Positiventures Initiative LLC on Election Day 2014. A little more than a month later, Bishop paid the company $34,350 for campaign management consulting.

Positiventures, based in Macon, was indicted earlier this month on a charge of conspiracy to launder proceeds of unlawful activity. Its registered agent, according to the Georgia Secretary of State’s website, is Cliffard Whitby.

Whitby also was indicted last week on charges of conspiracy to pay a bribe to an agent of an organization receiving federal funds, conspiracy to launder the proceeds of unlawful activity, and five counts of paying a bribe to an agent of an organization receiving federal funds.

The 54-year-old pleaded not guilty and is free on a $15,000 bond. A day later, he resigned as chairman of the Macon-Bibb County Industrial Authority, and he has also resigned as a chairman of OneMacon, which develops community and economic strategies for the community.

Reached by phone Friday afternoon, Bishop said his campaign manager in 2014, Kimberlyn Carter, worked for Positiventures and “that’s how she wanted her pay to come.”

Records show Bishop paid Carter an $8,500 bonus on Dec. 15, 2014. The money was given directly to Carter and did not go through Positiventures. He also paid Carter another $10,700 for campaign closing expenses in late November 2014, plus more than $5,000 in reimbursement payments for campaign materials.

“In addition to providing the campaign manager, (Positiventures) also constructed, assembled and installed several hundred 3-by-4-foot campaign signs across the 29 counties,” Bishop said. “I think that Cliffard was in the construction business and had people” help put out the signs.

Asked what kind of company Positiventures is, Bishop responded, “I have no idea.”

“I just know that was the business entity through which Cliffard Whitby wanted us to hire Kimberlyn Carter,” the congressman said.

Bishop was in Macon on Aug. 9 for the announcement regarding a $400 million tissue plant coming to Macon.

At the announcement, Whitby introduced Georgia’s governor and the U.S. commerce secretary to a crowd of Middle Georgia leaders.

“I was as surprised and shocked as anyone to learn about the indictments,” Bishop said.

Asked how he became acquainted with Whitby, Bishop said, “Whitby is a very renowned, savvy and innovative personality in the Macon-Bibb area.”

Bishop said he knew Carter because “she is an active Democrat” and is part of a national network of campaign consultant services.

Carter worked under former Bibb County school Superintendent Romain Dallemand, serving as head of the school district’s Welcome Center, one of Dallemand’s controversial initiatives. The center was a centralized location where students transferring schools had to enroll.

A search of Bishop’s campaign records also show that Isaac Culver III was among the 2014 contributors.

Culver was among those indicted earlier this year on fraud charges related to the $3.7 million sale of technology to the Bibb County school district in 2012.

Culver, who has also been named as a defendant in a multimillion-dollar lawsuit filed by the school district, contributed $1,000 to Bishop’s campaign on the day before the 2014 election. He is chief executive officer of Progressive Consulting Technologies Inc., which was also indicted in June.

“I don’t know Isaac Culver,” Bishop said. “That name does not ring a bell with me. ... I’m sure he was one of a number of $1,000 donors I had. I can’t really place him.”

Culver’s company also made some “questionable expenditures” to 16 people and entities, according to court records. The payments included one to Whitby’s construction company, Whitby Inc., totaling $73,126.38 and one to Positiventures Initiatives LLC for $100,000.

This story was originally published August 18, 2017 at 8:58 PM with the headline "Congressman Bishop paid campaign manager through recently indicted Macon business."