Opinion ID: 741895
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Defendants' Version of Events

Text: 15 The defendants tell a starkly different story. At trial, Sam Scott denied ever telling Mason to hire Beach or to withdraw his opposition to the Coweta Toll Plaza. Scott denied ever threatening to have Mason terminated for any reason. Both Scott and Young testified they were never pressured by anyone from the Governor's office to hire Beach, and they denied any knowledge of Beach's status as a financial contributor to the Governor. Furthermore, Scott testified that he never played any part in Young's decision to terminate Mason, and never expressed any opinion to Young on the matter. 16 Instead, Young testified that he independently decided to terminate Mason and hire Beach prior to assuming his duties at the OTA. In Young's opinion, the OTA no longer needed a Chief Financial Officer as principal assistant because the OTA was no longer confronted with the bond and finance issues that originally prompted Ridings to hire Mason. Young believed the OTA Comptroller and other employees could adequately perform Mason's previous duties, and Young wanted to hire a previous colleague to the Comptroller position. Id. at 1226-29. Thus, according to Young, he hired Beach to take advantage of Beach's experience in patron services and community relations, experience Young felt the OTA sorely needed at that juncture. Id. at 1232-33.