Montgomery Mayor Requests Approval to Hire Ex-Fraud Convict as City’s Director of Small Business Development
MONTGOMERY, Ala. (WAKA) — Montgomery Mayor Steven Reed has asked the Montgomery Personnel Board to approve his request to hire a man previously convicted of fraud and conspiracy as the city’s director of Small Business Development.
The board is scheduled to meet Monday to decide whether to approve or deny Reed’s request to appoint Donald Watkins Jr. to the position, which pays $120,960 annually.
According to the U.S. Department of Justice, Watkins and his father, Donald Watkins Sr., were convicted in March 2019 for defrauding NBA star Charles Barkley and using the name of former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice to lend credibility to an investment scheme.
Watkins Sr. was convicted of seven counts of wire fraud, two counts of bank fraud and one count of conspiracy. Watkins Jr. was convicted of one count of wire fraud and one count of conspiracy.
Action 8 News reached out to Mayor Reed’s office last week for comment but has not yet received a response.
