A 1999 meal at the Red Lobster on Old National Highway has to go down as one of the costliest Lobsterfests ever. With a security camera watching, Atlanta businessman Greene passed a newspaper stuffed with cash to Fulton County Commissioner Michael Hightower. Nine months later, Greene pleaded guilty to bribing the Democratic commissioner to steer contracts to his communications company. Hightower then pleaded guilty to taking $25,000 from Greene. A minority subcontractor, Greene offered equal-opportunity payoffs: The chief of staff for former commission chairman Mitch Skandalakis, a Republican, pleaded guilty to taking money from Greene. Skandalakis himself, who took payments from Greene’s business for work he characterized as a retainer, was convicted of lying to a federal agent. All of the men did prison time.
Rap Sheet and Rappers In 2003, before going to “the big house,” Greene sold his 10,000-square-foot College Park home for $2.8 million to Christopher B. Bridges, aka Ludacris.
This article originally appeared in the May 2011 issue