Civil Rights Violations and Illegal Bid-Rigging Cited in Federal Lawsuit against Atlanta Mayor, City and Clear Channel Airports.

ATLANTA -- Former Georgia Attorney General Leads the Fight against Airport Corruption

Mike Bowers, former attorney general of Georgia, announced today that he has filed a federal civil rights lawsuit against the city of Atlanta and officials involved in alleged illegal bid-rigging at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport. Those named in the suit include Atlanta Mayor Shirley Franklin and Airport General Manager Ben DeCosta, Clear Channel Outdoor Inc. d/b/a Clear Channel Airports, Clear Channel Airports of Georgia Inc., Barbara Fouch and other city officials and Clear Channel executives.

Bowers, now a partner at Balch & Bingham, filed the lawsuit in federal court in Atlanta on behalf of Corey Airport Services Inc. Co-counsel is Griffin B. Bell, Jr. of Fisher & Phillips LLP. Clear Channel Airports of Georgia Inc. has held the airport advertising contract since 1981. After the city put the contract out for bid for the first time in 2002, it selected Clear Channel Outdoor and its DBE (disadvantaged business enterprise) subcontractor Fouch over Corey. Fouch has also owned 30 percent of Clear Channel Airports of Georgia Inc. since at least 1981. Corey contends that it submitted the superior bid, but that the city rigged the bid because of Fouch's ties to city officials. More importantly, in 2003 alone, the city lost $1,463,460 because it did not award the contract to Corey. This number is the difference between Corey's 2003 guaranteed payments to the city and what the city actually received from CCG in 2003.

"Enough is enough," Bowers said when announcing the suit. "Bid-rigging and shady dealings by airport officials are a way of life. We're trying to stop it."

Bowers noted that the process of becoming a vendor of services at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport has historically been under suspicion and that there have been a series of indictments and convictions in past years. Bowers says the city is not concerned with selecting the most qualified bidders who present the best financial opportunities to the city.

"The bidding practice at the airport is a shame and a disgrace," Bowers said.

A judge's decision recently concluded that the city improperly awarded a duty-free store contract to a team consisting of Mayor Franklin's ex-husband and her grown children. The only other bidder for that contract was a team that included the daughter of Maynard Jackson, for whom the airport was named.

"It is anything but a fair process," Bell said. "It is incestuous. It is easy to conclude that there must be something wrong when there are only two bidders for the duty-free contract, and one is the mayor's family and the other is the former mayor's family. Somebody needs to step up and straighten things out."

Bowers said he is compiling a list of other companies that have received unfair treatment from the Atlanta airport. Billboards are being placed alongside Interstate 75 in Atlanta asking companies to "Report Atlanta Airport Corruption" by calling 1-800-772-6739. Additionally, the Website www.airportcorruption.com allows companies to report concerns online.

About Corey Airport Services Inc.:

Corey Airport Services is one of four divisions of US Enterprises Inc., an Atlanta company owned by William E. Corey. US Enterprises Inc. has been in the advertising business over 20 years and is a leader in the Atlanta out-of-home media industry.

About Clear Channel Outdoor Inc.:

Clear Channel Outdoor Inc. d/b/a Clear Channel Airports is owned by Clear Channel Communications Inc. (NYSE: CCU), headquartered in San Antonio, Texas. Clear Channel Communications Inc. is one of the largest advertising media companies in the world with operations in 63 countries. Clear Channel's core businesses include radio and television stations, outdoor displays and entertainment venues.

Clear Channel Airports manages the advertising in 16 other airports in the U.S. and Canada, including Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Newark, Atlanta, Denver, San Francisco, Toronto and Vancouver.

About Barbara Fouch:

Fouch, a native of Atlanta, now lives in California. She was a close friend of former Atlanta Mayor Maynard Jackson and a godmother to one of his daughters. Mayor Jackson was in office in 1981 when the city first awarded the airport advertising contract to a company in which Fouch was a 30 percent stakeholder, called Channel Airports of Georgia Inc. f/k/a Transportation Media Inc. of Georgia.

In May 2002, a month after the bidding for the new contract began, Fouch received a business license for Creative Media Displays of Georgia in Cobb County. This was verified by county business records and a county employee. The company's registered address, 2028 Powers Ferry Road, Atlanta, Georgia 30339, is the same as Clear Channel Outdoor. Since 1981, Fouch has received 30 percent of the profits from the Hartsfield-Jackson advertising contract that has grossed $69 million.