TBI asked to look at Sewell bill to East Ridge

The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation will determine whether $1,000 East Ridge paid to Councilman Larry Sewell's photography business during his first term in office amounts to a conflict of interest prohibited by the City Charter.

"If he didn't do anything wrong, I don't want him to appear wrong," Hamilton County District Attorney Bill Cox said Wednesday. "I requested the TBI do an independent investigation in order to ensure public confidence and the integrity of the investigation."

TBI spokeswoman Kristin Helm confirmed that the agency "opened a file" on Sewell, but she was unsure how long the investigation will take.

2008East Ridge paid $750 to Still Motion Photo to photograph the retirement party for former City Manager David Mays. Billed for 4 1/2 hours of photography, a DVD montage and a photo book.2009East Ridge paid $258.50 for two hours of photography, prints and frames for former city manager William Whitson's "welcoming luncheon."Source: City of East Ridge, newspaper archives

"It's relatively new, so we don't know how involved it will be," she said.

East Ridge and the district attorney's office reviewed documentation on Sewell after the Chattanooga Times Free Press reported on the money paid to his business.

Sewell said Wednesday he asked East Ridge City Manager Eddie Phillips to look into the matter "because I know in my heart I did nothing wrong."

"These allegations are not only unfounded but are intended to be hurtful to me and my family," Sewell wrote in an e-mail.

Sewell referred further questions to his accountant, Bernard Wolf, but Wolf could not be reached Wednesday or Friday.

In an e-mail, Phillips wrote, "It is my understanding that Larry Sewell has not been involved with Still Motion Photo in two years and is not involved now."

Documents obtained by the Times Free Press contradict that statement.

A 2006 candidate profile published by the newspaper identifies Sewell as the co-owner of Still Motion Photo. Three years after that, a Tennessee Ethics Commission disclosure from Sewell statement names Still Motion Photo as one of three sources of income for the councilman.

In 2008 and 2009, East Ridge contracted Still Motion Photo to document two parties the city threw for former city managers. Taken together, the business billed East Ridge $1,008.50 for six hours of photography.

According to the East Ridge City Charter, "No person who has a direct personal interest in any contract with the City or any department or institution thereof shall be qualified to be elected to the office of Mayor or Councilmember."

But city officials concluded that the business dealings were legal, and Sewell won re-election by an overwhelming margin on Nov. 2.

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