Mayor Andy Berke
Mayor Andy Berke's top advisor Lacie Stone accompanied him on a trip to New York City on April 12-13 and they ended up at a swanky spot where Ms. Stone's husband, Bobby, had taken her before. They sat at the Stones' favorite table.
Bobby Stone, who has accused his wife of having an affair with the mayor, has said that Lacie Stone told him that she and the mayor kissed for the first time at the Carlyle Hotel. Ms. Stone and Mayor Berke claim allegations by Bobby Stone are false.
In a divorce action filed Friday, Bobby Stone accused his wife of adultery.
The New York trip was arranged and paid for by the Chattanooga Chamber of Commerce for city and county officials to meet with some public relations firms.
Bobby Stone was out of town as well, skippering a boat from Florida up the Mississippi River and the Tombigbee Waterway.
It was just over a month later when the Stones got into a struggle over Lacie Stone's cell phone at their house when Bobby Stone suspected that his wife was texting the mayor. Lacie Stone and Mayor Berke at the time were using encrypted text messages.
Ms. Stone called Police Chief Fred Fletcher, claiming that her husband had assaulted her and was threatening to kill her. Bobby Stone then called Chief Fletcher, saying they had wrestled over her phone, but he had not hit her.
Bobby Stone has said that after Lacie Stone left their home on Ozark Circle to drive to the nearby home of Chief Fletcher that he again called Chief Fletcher.
He said when he informed him that "Mayor Berke is “f****** my wife,” that the police chief replied, “I thought it was Stacy.”
He referred to another young top Berke female advisor - now chief of staff - Stacy Richardson. Ms. Richardson that night also went to the Fletcher residence to check on the situation.
Chief of Staff Stacy Richardson