Content area
Full Text
Fired anti-drug czar hits state with discrimination complaint
Jeremy Pawloski
Georgette Watson's willingness to use her office to help fund drug and crime prevention programs in the black community ultimately caused her to get fired from her position as the director of the Governor's Alliance Against Drugs, says attorney Joseph Borsellino, who is now representing Watson in a civil rights suit against the state.
"She was the one crusader who was fighting against the prevailing tide in state government," said Borsellino. "Nobody else supported these programs."
Watson's complaint also makes allegations that she "suffered disparate treatment as compared to white executive agency heads of the Department of Public Safety," of which the GAAD is a member agency.
The suit Borsellino has filed on behalf of Watson is aimed at dispelling the notion that Watson was fired for alleged budget improprieties that occurred during her tenure.
The most sensational of the charges levelled against Watson last year came when it was revealed that she used state funds to take a trip to Aruba with a staffer. Borsellino is quick to point out that the trip broke no laws, and that Watson was on GAAD business during the four-day April trip last year.
During the trip, Watson attended meetings with government officials in Aruba who helped her set up an...