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Friday, January 20, 2006
Sides fight over allowing evidence
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
On the eve of former Atlanta Mayor Bill Campbell’s public corruption trial, his defense team fought in a courtroom Friday to block some of the government’s evidence.
The seven-count indictment alleges that Campbell, 52, managed City Hall between 1994 and 2002 as a criminal enterprise, and it accuses him of racketeering, accepting bribes and tax evasion. Campbell has pleaded not guilty.
Campbell’s attorneys and prosecutors spent Friday haggling over what evidence will reach jurors during the trial.
Giving in to the defense team, prosecutors agreed not to tell jurors during opening statements that Campbell solicited money to help pay for the criminal defense of corrupt former city official Larry Wallace.
Wallace, who was Campbell’s friend and chief operating officer, pleaded guilty in 2002 to bribery. Wallace was accused of accepting $56,000 from a businessman in exchange for his help in getting city business for a telecommunications firm.
During the trial, prosecutors will try to show that Campbell accepted bribes in the form of money and other favors in exchange for city contracts. For example, Campbell is accused taking a 1999 trip costing more than $12,900 to Paris with Wallace, a trip paid for by another company, United Water. The company had a 20-year contract to operate Atlanta’s water system. Prosecutors say Campbell later signed documents giving United Water an $80 million increase in the contract.
Yates told the judge she wants to show jurors newspaper articles that quoted Campbell denying signing the documents. Campbell’s attorneys objected and aren’t acknowledging that Campbell made the statements to reporters. The judge delayed ruling on whether to allow the articles.
Prosecutors also want to bring in a handwriting expert to testify the signature matches Campbell’s.
Yates said Campbell helped pay for Wallace’s defense so Wallace would keep quiet as federal investigators closed in on Campbell.
“Mr. Wallace to this day still is not cooperating with the government,� Yates told the judge Friday. “He still won’t tell what he knows.�
Jerry Froelich, one of Campbell’s attorneys, said Campbell helped Wallace with legal fees because the two have been friends since high school – not to silence Wallace.
Yates agreed not to tell jurors Monday that Campbell sought money from a man, who was not identified in court, to help pay legal fees for Wallace and Dan DeBardelaben, another figure in the federal investigation.
Campbell is charged with racketeering, in part, for allegedly soliciting more than $50,000 from computer contractors hoping for a deal to prepare the city’s computers for Y2K. In 1999, DeBardelaben, a golfing buddy of Campbell’s, asked the mayor about the Y2K computer contract. “What’s in it for me?� Campbell responded, the indictment alleges.
DeBardelaben then acted as a conduit for computer contractor Samuel J. Barber Jr., delivering to Campbell cash payments of $20,000, $25,000 and $10,000, prosecutors said. The company received a $1 million contract.
During Friday’s pretrial hearing, Campbell’s defense team also tried to stop prosecutors from presenting hearsay testimony against Campbell, including allegations that a contractor sent Campbell bribe money through Fred B. Prewitt, Campbell’s friend and chairman of the city’s Civil Service Board. Prewitt pleaded guilty in 2000 to filing false income tax reports on $583,380 paid to him by contractors seeking city work. He admitted he was a minority “front� for white-owned companies bidding for city business.
“There’s no one who can say Prewitt gave that money to Mayor Campbell and Prewitt denies it,� Martin argued.
No so, according to Assistant U.S. Attorney Phyllis Sumner.
“There will be a witness who saw Mr. Prewitt give Mr. Campbell cash,� she told the judge.
Sumner didn’t name the witness or discuss details about the alleged bribe.� The judge said he will wait to decide on whether to allow the testimony.
Staff writer Mae Gentry contributed to this report
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Campbell doesn’t plan plea deal
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Despite the hardship on him and his family, former Atlanta Mayor Bill Campbell said he is not considering any plea deal in his federal corruption trial because he is innocent.
“The fight for my innocence is so important to me,” Campbell said on V-103 radio today. “There are incredible financial hardships. Obviously, it’s very difficult for my wife and my children and my family.
“But at the end of the day, you’ve got to stand up for what you believe in, and I know that I’m innocent,â€? Campbell said.
The seven-count indictment alleges that Campbell, 52, managed City Hall between 1994 and 2002 as a criminal enterprise, and it accuses him of racketeering, accepting bribes and tax evasion. Campbell has pleaded not guilty.
In what he hyped as “an exclusive interview,� then a “very exclusive interview� and ultimately “the most exclusive interview of the year,� radio personality Frank Ski of V-103 provided the forum for his old friend to talk about his federal corruption case.
The nearly hour-long questioning, which appeared so favorable toward Atlanta’s ex-mayor that several listeners called in to express their concern over Ski’s objectivity, allowed Campbell once again to declare his innocence as lawyers several miles away prepared for his trial. Opening arguments are scheduled to begin Monday.
Campbell, a former V-103 commentator, made it clear that he wasn’t going to discuss specifics of the case, so the “exclusive� ended up being more about his views on being what Ski called “a target� and how the former mayor and his family are holding up.
Campbell said he had waited what “seems like an eternity� for his trial to begin.
“All I know is that I’ve waited for a long time to have the opportunity to clear my name [and] be vindicated,� Campbell said. “I’m looking forward to the conclusion of this ordeal.�
With a studio full of television cameras, Ski, the host of the No. 1-rated “Frank and Wanda in the Morning� show, promised “some very difficult questions� but later conceded to a disgruntled listener that he fell short.
“The real questions that a lot of people wanted to know are directly related to the case …There are certain questions we just can’t ask,â€? Ski said. “I tried to go there.â€?
Among the comments Campbell did make:
On the trial: “I have a good jury, a fair jury. The judge has been very fair in his rulings, and so I have every expectation that I will get a fair trial, and if that happens I’ll finally get a chance to clear my name.�
On a potential juror’s comment that he should be hung from the highest tree: “It was shocking. You know these attitudes exist in America, but I haven’t heard that expressed in many, many years, since I was back the civil rights movement as a young child.�
On his career: “I’ve made mistakes along the way, but I tell you what, I’ve always tried to uphold the love and the honor of the people of Atlanta who have allowed me to serve.�
On gambling: “I like to gamble. I go to casinos. I play golf, play cards, but I’ve never ever had a gambling problem.�
On being excluded when Atlanta’s black mayors are mentioned: “Ultimately… you have to understand that it’s what you feel about yourself, and not how others feel about you, that’s most important, and I’m very comfortable with my service to Atlanta for 20 years. I love this city.â€?
On a possible plea deal: “The fight for my innocence is so important to me that I struggle with this issue. There are incredible financial hardships. Obviously, it’s very difficult for my wife and my children and my family. But at the end of the day, you’ve got to stand up for what you believe in, and I know that I’m innocent.�
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Campbell starts day on the radio
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Now that the jury is in place, attorneys for both sides in the Bill Campbell federal corruption case are in court today for a brief hearing on a few loose ends, like establishing boundaries on hearsay evidence.
The former Atlanta mayor began his day on V-103 radio station, where he once again declared his innocence and thanked listeners for their support. Campbell, however, declined to speak specifically about the case, although he praised the fairness of U.S. District Judge Richard Story and the selection of a 12-member jury that consists of seven blacks and five whites.
The trial is expected to get under way Monday with opening arguments, followed by the start of testimony. It’s still expected to last six to eight weeks.
The seven-count indictment alleges that Campbell, now 52, managed City Hall as a criminal enterprise, and it accuses him of racketeering, accepting bribes and tax evasion.
As mayor from 1994 to 2002, the indictment contends, Campbell raked in more than $160,000 in payoffs and collected $137,000 in illegal campaign contributions. It also charges that city contractors bankrolled a trip to Paris for Campbell, sent him on gambling junkets and installed a heating and air-conditioning system in his Inman Park home.
Campbell denies the allegations.
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