Melydia Clewell will resign from her position as chief of staff at the Hamilton County District Attorney’s Office effective May 17, after more than a year of controversy over nepotism at the agency.
“I can confirm that payroll has been notified that her pay will be discontinued on May 17,” Lee Brouner, the county’s chief financial officer, told the Chattanooga Times Free Press on Wednesday.
Clewell, 53, did not respond to a request for comment, and neither did the DA’s office. She was a television journalist first hired by District Attorney Neal Pinkston as a public information officer. He later married her and hired her brother, as reported last year by the Times Free Press.
Pinkston has stood by his actions, saying they are legally and ethically sound. The state Comptroller’s Office and the Attorney General’s Office disagreed, saying the arrangement violated state nepotism law in letters they issued in February. Pinkston placed the Clewells on paid leave at that time.
Clewell’s brother, Kerry, submitted his resignation last month as an investigator – also effective May 17. At the time, the office issued a statement saying, “Ms. Clewell continues to explore her options.”