In this file photo taken April 2, 2014, Holly LaBerge, executive director of the state ethics commission, testifies in the lawsuit brought by former executive director Stacey Kalberman in Atlanta.ATLANTA – The head of the state ethics commission was placed on administrative leave with pay on Friday, a few days after she was fined by a judge for failing to turn over key documents in a lawsuit against the agency.
Commission Chairwoman Hillary Stringfellow told The Associated Press that she notified the agency’s director, Holly LaBerge, on Friday morning that she had been placed on administrative leave until further notice. Stringfellow would only say the action followed the advice of counsel.
A judge on Wednesday fined LaBerge and the state attorney general’s office $10,000 each for not handing over texts, emails and a memo showing LaBerge had communicated with top aides for Gov. Nathan Deal shortly before the commission considered ethics complaints involving the governor’s 2010 personal and campaign-finance disclosures.
Calls to LaBerge and her attorney were not immediately returned.
The fines were issued as part of a lawsuit filed by former commission director Stacey Kalberman, who claimed she faced retaliation for an investigation of ethics complaints against the governor.