Commissioner at center of ticket fixing scandal: I should have thought through that better

NOLENSVILLE, Tenn. (WSMV) - The Nolensville city commissioner at the center of ticket fixing scandal, currently being reviewed by the district attorney’s office, tells WSMV4 Investigates that she should have “thought through that better” when she accepted the town’s police chief’s private dismissal of her traffic ticket.

After ghosting WSMV4 Investigates for a scheduled interview on October 28, when we exposed how Garramone and the outgoing vice mayor had their traffic tickets fixed by police chief Roddy Parker, she agreed to answer questions.

“You agreed to do an interview with us,” said WSMV4 Investigates.

“Yep,” Garramone said.

“You didn’t show up,” said WSMV4 Investigates.

“Right,” Garramone said.

“You didn’t respond to our calls; you didn’t respond to our texts. I just wonder why. Why did you ghost us?” WSMV4 Investigates said.

“I made a decision that I had to get to a work meeting as the time was going to be slightly different,” Garramone said.

Garramone is referencing the fact that on Oct. 28, WSMV4 Investigates texted her to inform her that we thought we were running a bit late, but quickly followed up to confirm we would be on time and ultimately arrived early. “You’re telling me that you didn’t’ show up, because you thought you had to get to another meeting? It had nothing to do with the fact that you didn’t want to answer our questions?” asked WSMV4 Investigates.

“I’m here today to answer your questions,” Garramone said.

“But you weren’t that day,” WSMV4 Investigates said. “Nope, but I’m here today,” Garramone said. And WSMV4 Investigates had plenty of questions. “You knew that your ticket had been fixed by the police chief,” WSMV4 Investigates said.

“I did,” Garramone said. “When (the chief) said, he was going to take care of it, it didn’t register with me that he didn’t have that authority.”

“But ultimately, commissioner, shouldn’t you have just known better? Ethically, shouldn’t that have sat with you, thinking I shouldn’t get my ticket fixed, when nobody else gets their ticket fixed?” asked WSMV4 Investigates.

“Well, so, well, maybe, I don’t know. I think I trusted the chief of police at that time,” Garramone said. “In hindsight, I agree 100 percent with what you’re saying. Yeah, I should have thought through that better.”

WSMV4 Investigates also asked about body camera footage from police officer, revealing that one of them suspected that Garramone had been driving drunk that night. “Commissioner or not, tell the Chief the next time she’s drinking and driving I’m arresting her,” the officer says in the video.

The body camera video shows Garramone walking out of the driver side of a vehicle, but she claims she was riding in the back seat behind the driver, and that someone else was driving.

In the city’s ethics investigation, Garramone said there were multiple other passengers in the vehicle, and that those names would be released at a later date.

Garramone has never produced those names.

“You have yet to say who you were riding with that night that the officer suspected you were driving drunk. The town’s attorney tells me that he asked you to provide it, and yet you still haven’t. Why?” asked WSMV4 investigates.

“The reason I have not provided that information is that giving out the name of a private citizen will have them go through all of what I’ve gone through with all of this being on the news,” Garramone said.

Garramone is also facing scrutiny from another WSMV4 investigation that exposed emails showing she wanted to avoid paying flood insurance by having the city pay for a $380,000 wall.

“I can imagine people thinking in your town, you benefit quite well from your position,” WSMV4 Investigates said.

“You can look at it that way, or you can hear everything I’ve said to you today about what my intent was with all of those things,” Garramone said.

Williamson County district attorney Kim Helper tells WSMV4 Investigates that she is still reviewing how the ethics investigation.

WSMV4 Investigates has put our entire interview with Garramone, including our discussion of the threats she says she has received and the reasons why she feels like she lost the election.

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