Two former officials of the City of Atlanta will remain behind bars after US President Donald Trump declined to grant their requests for sentence commutations.
Mitzi Bickers and Jimmie “Jim” A. Beard were among numerous applicants whose clemency requests were rejected on July 10, according to records released by the US Department of Justice’s Office of the Pardon Attorney.
Bickers was the first defendant to stand trial in the federal investigation into corruption linked to the administration of former Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed.
She played a key role in Reed’s successful mayoral campaign and later served as the city’s director of human services. Federal prosecutors alleged that she exploited her position to steer about $17 million in city contracts to contractors Elvin “E.R.” Mitchell Jr. and Charles P. Richards Jr. in exchange for more than $2.9 million in bribes that benefited herself and others.
Investigators said the proceeds were used to fund expensive purchases, including a lakefront property, a 2014 GMC Denali SUV, four Yamaha WaveRunners, luxury travel and other personal expenses.
In 2022, a federal jury found Bickers guilty on nine of 12 charges, including conspiracy to commit bribery, wire fraud and money laundering.
While sentencing her, US District Judge Steve Jones said the evidence showed she had taken part in “a deliberate, calculated plan to cheat” Atlanta taxpayers over several years.
Bickers was initially sentenced to 14 years in prison, but the term was reduced by two years in 2025. She was also ordered to repay nearly $3 million to the City of Atlanta and will serve three years of supervised release after completing her prison sentence.
Beard, who served as Atlanta’s chief financial officer between 2011 and 2018, was also implicated in the corruption investigation.
According to prosecutors, Beard used a city-issued credit card to finance luxury trips, claimed duplicate travel reimbursements, filed false tax returns and obtained custom-built machine guns through the city’s police department.
He pleaded guilty in 2024 to misusing government funds and making false statements to the Internal Revenue Service as part of a plea agreement that saw six other charges, including unlawful possession of a machine gun, dropped.
Judge Jones sentenced Beard to three years in prison, followed by three years of supervised release. He was also directed to pay $177,197 in restitution and a $10,000 fine.
Bickers and Beard are among 10 individuals convicted during the federal corruption probe. Despite the investigation focusing on activities during his administration, former Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed has not been charged.
