Alabama Attorney General, after examiner’s review, closes book on Mobile contract probe

The Alabama Department of Examiners of Public Accounts says the City of Mobile followed “all relevant state laws in executing” a $92,000 contract last year with a firm to review an in-house evaluation of ShotSpotter technology and Operation Echo Stop (OES), according to a letter released Wednesday by Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall.

The one-page letter from Marshall to City Attorney Richardo Woods said that “barring any new information presented” to this office, his agency was not going to conduct any further investigation.

Marshall said that after a “cursory review” of the case, the Attorney General’s Office forwarded all the information they had about a contract with 321z Insights LLC to the Department of Examiners of Public Accounts – the state’s independent auditing agency – for closer examination.

“This is the third independent review of all materials, which came to the same conclusion as the others,” Mobile Mayor Sandy Stimpson said in a statement. “The AG is the top law enforcement official in the state and with the conclusion of his investigation, I am satisfied that nothing illegal or improper has occurred in the execution of the 321z contract.”

Prine’s reaction

The concerns were first raised by former Mobile Police Chief Paul Prine, alleging improprieties in the execution of the contract and that 321z Insights were first formed last October and had connections with the Stimpson administration. He also alleged the purpose of the company’s hiring was to undermine his performance and abilities as police chief overseeing the Operation Echo Stop crime-fighting initiative.

Prine also alleged the address provided for 321z in the contract is the same as the Gulf Coast Technology Center (GCTC), which is headed up by Kevin Levy and whom Prine had repeated disputes over the handling of intelligence policing.

Prine, in a statement, questioned what information was provided to the Attorney General’s Office for a review.

“It should be noted that I have only stated there was an appearance of financial impropriety with this contract due to some of the following reasons,” he said in a statement. “While I hope that is not the case, the inquiry does not address the discrepancies that I have pointed out such as vendor address listed as the Mobile Police Department tech-center, not complying with contractual agreement of itemizing scope of work that was billed, the nonexistence of the company four weeks prior to receiving the contract, or paying $92,000.00 for a peer review only to learn that the company did not write the review.”

He added, “I am confident that the state Attorney General has conducted a ‘cursory review’ based only on the information that the city forwarded. The report appears to be a singular issue of the contract and its compliance with state law. Maybe we should ask the city what information was provided to the attorney general? I appreciate the Attorney General taking the time to review the contract.”

Prine, was placed on administrative leave in early April and fired as police chief on April 30, raised his concerns about the contract during a late March meeting with Woods and Stimpson over the terms of his separation from employment with the City of Mobile.

The same concerns -- and more -- are currently being examined by a Special Counsel the Mobile City Council hired in late May. Bill Athanas with Bradley, Arant, Boult, Cummings LLP, is overseeing a 45-day probe into the concerns raised by Prine before he was fired on April 30, and the investigation’s report is due later this month.

Previous inquiries

Prine’s concerns over the 321z Insights contract were investigated twice – by the Office of Professional Responsibility and by the law firm, Burr & Forman, which employs Woods.

Stimpson noted that neither of those investigations – along with the Attorney General’s review -- revealed any wrongdoing.

“However, knowing that many in the community may not be satisfied with who conducted these investigations and in the interest of transparency and public confidence, we turned all the investigative materials and reports from both inquiries over to the Alabama Attorney General’s Office,” Stimpson said.

The 27-page Burr & Forman report, released on April 30, is the most extensive review of the allegations that also suggested the address 321z Insights was formed as a joint venture by Mark and Jonni Baker. Mark Baker is a former intelligence officer and a partner with the GCTC since 2018; Jonnie Baker is a technical writer who works within the intelligence community.

The company was formed in October 2023 to perform consulting work with the city and other clients. Levy, according to the Burr & Foreman review, saw “no problem contracting with 321z Insights as a new entity.” The company is headquartered at the couple’s home in Florida.

In early 2024, Levy and Mark Baker discussed additional work to be performed under the 321z contract. According to the Burr & Forman report, tensions began to emerge “in the leadership ranks and Levy was asked to make a report concerning (OES).”

Although the 321z contract, when originally submitted, was “not intended to include a peer review of OES,” Levy asked Baker to conduct a “peer review” of Levy’s written report evaluating its overall effectiveness. According to Levy, Baker’s review of OES was intended to be an unbiased “second set of eyes” amid a breakdown in communication between Prine and Rob Lasky, the executive director of public safety.

The review consisted of Levy’s report he drafted based on his own analysis of OES, the original OES operations plan and “certain ShotSpotter data.” Then 321z provided “some edits and minor insight” but “none of their review significantly altered or changed the contest of the report (Levy) prepared,” according to the report.

The report justifies the costs for OES, and future investments will only lead to “increased ROI if Department Leadership supports the program.” Although the report does not name him, Prine interpreted its recommendations – that “Department Leadership” provide more support for OES – as part of a “conspiracy to ‘force (him) out of office,’” according to the Burr Foreman analysis.

Burr & Forman, in its report, said the process by which the 321z contract was approved was proper, and there has been no evidence of anything improper about it. The City Council voted unanimously to support the contract during a meeting in November 2023.

The Burr & Forman analysis also said Prine’s claims that OES was a failure, and placed the blame on him as police chief, were “illogical,” adding that the “report cannot blame Prine for the failure of OES because the report did not find that OES had failed. The report deemed OES a success but noted certain areas of improvement.”