Former Sen. Roy Allen Dead At 57

(12/31/07) Former State Sen. Roy L. Allen II of Savannah, once a popular elected official and successful attorney whose career took a detour into legal problems of his own, died over the weekend. He was 57.

Allen served first in the House and later in the Senate, first as a Democrat and later as a Republican. (He switched to the GOP side in 1994 but did not seek re-election.)

In 1998, Allen was charged with stealing money from clients and ordered to repay some $467,667 in swindled money. He was disbarred and eventually served time for the charges.

There were more problems for Allen following his parole. He was accused of accepting money from the family member of an inmate after saying he could speed up the inmate’s parole request. That got him in trouble with the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, since only licensed attorneys can accept money for practicing before the board. He also was wanted for not reporting to his parole officer and for failing to pay restitution.

A month long manhunt ensued in 2003 before he was arrested in the Bahamas.

Senate President Pro Tem Eric Johnson, R-Savannah, issued this statement:

“The news that former State Senator Roy Allen has died brings back memories of a successful legislative career coupled with bitter disappointments in his professional and personal conduct. Life is full of stories of people that have it all, but still want more. Roy was one of those. I pray that he has found the peace that he sought through worldly possessions in the arms of his Savior.”

Johnson remembered Allen as a man who testified in support of the nomination of his childhood friend Clarence Thomas to the U. S. Supreme Court.

Johnson, who this year successfully won passage of a voucher bill for special needs students, also remembered Allen as something of a pioneer in that field.

He said Allen in 1994 introduced what he labeled the Parental Freedom Act, which would have provided half of the state’s funding for public school children as a scholarship to a private school. The measure died in committee.

Allen died Friday in Atlanta.